Issue 22 December 2013 - The Academic Colleges Group

STRATAExperiencing the Duke of EdIt won’t make you taller......but you will hold your head up higher; itwon’t make you better looking....but it will make you more attractive toemployers.The Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award is organised in three levels - Bronze,Silver and Gold - and is offered to young people aged 14 to 24. The award isachieved by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections(five for the Gold) and this year 19 students have completed the Award atStrathallan (four at Gold level) with a further 24 on their way to completion.The Duke of Ed experience is physically and mentally challenging andoffers great opportunities to grow and develop skills that students maynot otherwise experience. The Skill and Sport sections allow students toboost their self-esteem, develop practical and social skills and learn howto rise to a challenge.However, the Servicesection of each Awardis arguably the mostrewarding as it is herethat students can reallyfeel that they are givingback to the community.Service can includevolunteering in charitywork, coaching sport,or a specialist trainingservice such as first aid orlife-saving. Year 13 student,Hsiao-Nee Loh, spent hersummer holiday volunteering at a local hospice and she also volunteeredin the after-school care programme at our Primary School. She speaks ofthe joy in being able to help others whilst gaining an understanding andawareness of the wider community.It is the Adventurous Journey that all agree is the most challenging. GoldAward recipient, Sarah Balchin, remembers coming back from her firsttramp and “bursting into tears as it was so hard; it rained and was wet, coldand extremely muddy.” However, as she persevered through the levels,it was actually the tramping that she learned to love the most. Accordingto Sarah Summerscales, the adventurous journey “makes participantspush themselves the most and gets them out of their comfort zone.” AndShirin Chen reflects: “The last stretch in every tramp would always bethe most challenging. But I realised that my exhaustion was more mentalthan physical. I become fixated on the destination, losing a sense ofthe journey that I had already travelled.” The benefits of this section ofthe award are highlighted by tramp organiser, Dr Katherine Greenley.“Students have a sense of accomplishment at the challenge they haveput themselves through. They develop team-work and leadership skillsand learn quickly from their mistakes or miscalculations.”For our four Gold recipients, theResidential Project saw each spend aminimum of five days “on a purposefulproject with new companions.” For SarahBalchin, this meant a voyage on the Spiritof Adventure, “travelling around NewZealand’s beautiful coastline with 49complete strangers” who after ten days“became the tightest group of best matesever.” Hsiao-Nee’s residential projectwas spent at Outward Bound whilstShirin Chen and Sarah Summerscalesused their World Challenge expeditionto Vietnam and Cambodia. Shirin:“By immersing myself in a completelydifferent culture and environment, I wastruly able to embrace the philosophy ofDuke of Edinburgh. The award is aboutindividual challenge and encouragespersonal growth throughout this process.”Shirin has a very clear sense about what Dukeof Ed has meant to her. “It’s special becauseit forces you to transcend your comfort zones.Moreover, it has taught me to relish themoments of the journey and the experiencesand lessons I gained from the process.”It’s all about being the best “you” that you can possibly be.“One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure”. - William Feather.Page 2