Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Silver and Gold groups have been out, in all weather over the past few weekends:
This term has been exceptionally busy and eventful for the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions at Kilgraston. Our students have demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination as they tackled the challenges presented by the unpredictable Scottish weather.
The Bronze teams kicked off the expeditions, facing some of the most dreadful weather conditions. Despite having enjoyed sunshine during their practice walk back in March, the actual expedition through the Pentland Hills was a stark contrast. Battling through torrential rain and being soaked to the skin, the girls showed immense perseverance. Unfortunately, the severe weather forced the abandonment of the expedition, and we are awaiting a decision on whether they will need to retake this element to complete their award.
Next up were the Silver teams, who embarked on their expeditions with impressive enthusiasm. They completed two weeks of back-to-back expeditions, starting with a 2-day practice hike in the hills around Dunkeld. Unlike the Bronze teams, they experienced the heat of the sun, a stark reminder of Scotland’s ever-changing weather. Their 3-day qualifier took them to the scenic area of Callander, where they continued to demonstrate their skills and endurance. Well done to all our Silver participants!
Finally, it was time for the Gold Qualifier. Having completed their practice earlier in the year, the Gold participants faced the exciting challenge of traveling to the other side of Scotland to Fort William. Over four days, they experienced the full spectrum of Scottish weather—sunshine, rain, wind, and even snow on the final day. Their determination and spirit were truly commendable as they completed their final trek back to the bus, ready to enjoy the well-deserved ride home.
Congratulations to all our Duke of Edinburgh participants for their incredible efforts and achievements this term. Your resilience and teamwork have been inspiring, and we look forward to seeing you continue to thrive in your future adventures. A huge thank-you to Stuart and his team at Outlook Adventures as without them these expeditions would not have been possible.
Mr Brookes, Duke of Edinburgh Manager and Head of Mathematics
Kilgraston collaboration: Duke of Edinburgh Awards and John Muir programme
Kilgraston is proud of the breadth of clubs & activities we offer to our pupils. It is an opportunity to extend and grow skills, whether these be old or new.
This year our Duke of Edinburgh Awards department will be collaborating with Dr Phillips and his John Muir Award programme.
We will be using the John Muir Discovery Award to support and evidence the Volunteering section of the Bronze level Duke of Edinburgh Award. The students will devise a structured conservation project to complete and in doing so they will gain knowledge and skills from this practical learning that will be useful for all aspects of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The John Muir Award is something that is achievable within a short time frame and this collaboration will increase the participants appreciation of the environments which they will find themselves in during their Duke of Edinburgh expedition. Students will also gain a nationally recognised certificate upon completion of their Discovery Award and again upon completion of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award is open to any student over the age of 14 and enrolment will take place over the coming weeks. For more information on The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award please contact Mrs Herbert at [email protected] or for information on the John Muir Award contact Dr Phillips at [email protected]
Duke of Edinburgh experience at Kilgraston
Duke of Edinburgh, while a tough experience was something I will remember forever. It made me realise just how resourceful I could be and how valuable a good team is! I will also remember the amazing memories with the girls, while it was difficult, it was also really fun.
Of course, it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine (although we did see a double rainbow and lots of sun at the end of day two), The laughs while walking up hills out of breath and my wet sleeping bag (make sure to put everything in dry bags) were worth it. It also tested my cooking skills, as I managed to make a stir fry for lunch on day two consisting of pepper and spinach.
I will definitely use the skills that I learnt from Duke of Edinburgh, such as patience, medical skills (like the use of blister plasters) and how to have an amazing time in the most unlikely circumstances.
On day one we were all really discouraged at the start because we went the wrong way, only to fix it and loose a member of our team to injury, however by the end of our bronze expedition we got to see a double rainbow, and a group of extremely aggressive sheep who definitely did not want us there.
Overall, Duke of Edinburgh was worth all the hardships, and you can be sure I am doing silver next year!
Aine, Lower Fifth
Duke of Edinburgh training sessions
Pupils taking part in this year’s Bronze Duke of Edinburgh had a training session recently in school grounds to prepare them for their day walk over the weekend. The girls took part in some team building games and then learned how to use the gas stoves safely. Mrs Herbert, Duke of Edinburgh coordinator, demonstrated various nutritious meals from different cuisines that can easily be cooked outdoors such as Indian, Mexican, Thai, Mediterranean. They then cooked their own three course lunch on the stoves. We also learned how choose a campsite and how to put up and take down a tent. This was a first for many of the girls!
Then at the weekend, three teams headed out on the same walk, via different routes taking in Castle Law Hillfort, and Forgandenny, in total they each walked just under ten kilometres and took around six hours and mostly in the sunshine. Our focus for the walk was to pay attention to the different plant/animal/bird/insect life evidenced along the way. We found many examples of edibles along the way such as Rowan, Gorse, Crab Apple and Wood Sorrel. We also found some lovely examples of Scots Pine and deer ! Birds of Prey & Ravens spotted over Castle Law too.
Kilgraston pupils have a long tradition of undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh awards across the three different levels, it is just one of the many extracurricular activities Kilgraston offers its pupils.
How Duke of Edinburgh Award is continuing during COVID
Throughout the COVID Pandemic and all its attendant restrictions, the Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) at Kilgraston has continued to run. It has made a few adjustments to its various conditions to allow participants to continue with their chosen activities in a safe and legal manner.
Anyone who achieves any of the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards during this pandemic will certainly have earned it; demonstrating those key DofE qualities of Resilience; Commitment; Initiative; Adaptability; Enthusiasm and plenty more. Even during a pandemic, DofE has remained as an area of demonstrable Personal Development, both to the individual and also to Universities, Colleges and potential employers.
Through the current academic year, the Duke of Edinburgh Award Groups at Kilgraston have demonstrated these same qualities through persevering with their activities (and changing them if need be); attending online training sessions in preparation for the expeditions; and, in the case of the Bronze and Silver Groups, taking advantage of a small window of opportunity in late November to complete their expeditions (Silver Practice and Bronze Qualifier), which means that they are well ahead in their progress towards their full Awards. In fact, a number of the Bronze group have already completed their Award and have embarked on Silver, with more to follow soon!
There are still some expeditions to run (Gold and Silver Qualifier) and we are hopeful of finding dates in June when this may be possible after all the assessment deadlines have passed! The girls who achieve their Awards then will certainly have earned them.
Mr James Ferrier and Miss Lisa O’Brien
You can read more about the people behind Duke of Edinburgh Award at Kilgraston including Mr James Ferrier here.
Duke of Edinburgh - new member of team
Kilgraston is proud of all of our pupils who continue to be committed to the nation-wide Duke of Edinburgh scheme and in 2019, previous pupils even enjoyed a trip to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Awards.
With the scheme’s increasing popularity, Kilgraston is delighted to have another member joining Mrs Herbert, Mr James Ferrier. Below, Mr Ferrier introduces himself and talks about our latest silver expedition practice - welcome to Kilgraston Mr Ferrier:
“I am a semi retired teacher with 34- years experience in the Independent system; 20 of which have been at Lathallan in Aberdeenshire where I was Head of Junior (amongst other things).
“I have over 40 years experience leading people, young and older, in wild places in the UK, Europe, Indonesia, South Africa and South America and am a qualified Mountain Leader and Navigation Award Tutor. I am passionate about the value of outdoor learning and education - now so relevant -and now devote my time to bringing this opportunity to young people. I am also a former Kilgraston parent and am delighted to be able to give something back to somewhere of which my now grown-up daughter has very fond memories.
“The Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award group had a wonderful two days (no camping required this year in winter and under COVID) in the Lomond Hills exploring the forests and open hill and moorland.
“Saturday was bright and sunny and it was a joy to be on the hills; Sunday was rather mirky until we climbed above the cloud inversion on Bishop Hill from where we could see for miles. The girls were very positive and enthusiastic and gave an excellent account of themselves, especially with some confident navigation on a misty Sunday morning.
“Thank you to all the girls; to Miss Sieger and Mr Fraser; to Miss O’Brien for coordinating; to all the Kilgraston staff for making the trip and my visit so enjoyable; and to my fellow Mountain Leader (and Kilgraston parent) Mr MacHardy.”
Kilgraston’s Gold Duke of Edinburgh team
Kilgraston’s Gold Duke of Edinburgh team made a significant impact in our local community. The group, who undertook a variety of volunteer work, carried out almost 1000 hours of volunteer work. The social value of this work has been worked out but the official Duke of Edinburgh organisation as being the equivalent to £4219,50 of work.
Mrs MacGinty said: “The girls who took part in this year’s Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award ought to be immensely proud of themselves. Not only have they contributed a significant amount to our local community with their volunteering efforts, but they undertook their final external trip under some incredibly difficult conditions. Talk about character building, well done girls.”
The group also spend 818 hours developing skills and 818 hours taking part in physical activity: brilliant effort all round girls.
Kilgraston pupils have had a strong commitment and focus of the various Duke of Edinburgh awards with a number of them even receiving their awards at Buckingham Palace.