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College

Seven Complete Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award

31 October 2024

The Gold Duke of Edinburgh award is the highest honour within the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme and one that 1000’s of individuals aspires to every year around the world.

"To earn the Gold Award, participants must dedicate significant time to various activities that test their physical endurance, community spirit, and personal growth. The five sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition, and Residential. Each require unique challenges that push participants to grow in different ways."

In order to achieve this converted award applicants must demonstrate themselves in five areas.

  1. Voluntary Service - They must complete 52 hours (1 hour a week for 52 weeks) of voluntary service within the community for example: volunteering at Opshops, planting for DOC, joining the local youth council. Voluntary service 
  2. Skills – Must complete 52 hours of developing a new skill or improve an existing skill for example: photography, learning an instrument, learning a language, developing cooking or computer skills or learning to drive a car.
  3. Physical Recreation – 52 hours of encouraging you to improve your health and fitness for example, join a sports team, sports club, join a gym, start running or cycling or ven rock climbing.
  4. Practice & Adventurous Journey. There are two types of adventurous journey – expedition and exploration.

Expedition is a journey with a purpose. The primary focus is on the journeying, where around two thirds of the purposeful effort must be spent journeying such as tramping, canoeing or sailing

Exploration is a purpose with a journey. The primary focus is to observe and collect information relevant to the purpose such as investigating the flora and fauna of the Kepler track.

  1. Gold Residential Project – through this aspect of the award participants will meet new people, explore life in an unfamiliar environment, develop new skills and, hopefully, have a life changing experience. Applicant must be away from home for 5 days and 4 nights, be involved in 8hours of purposeful activity each day and should be with people they do not know.

At the College we have one of the largest Gold Duke of Edinburgh programs in New Zealand. This year we have over 65 students currently trying to complete this award.

During the October term break, we had two teams out kayaking on a 3-day practice adventure beginning at Sullivan’s Bay. The teams faced some challenging conditions but enjoyed every minute. One of the teams was lucky enough to witness Dame Lisa Carrington (New Zealand’s most successful Olympian with nine medals) paddle past them one morning.

To achieve the Gold Duke of Edinburgh award and balance your studies in Year 12 and Year 13 is a huge feat and many will not complete it whilst still at school but will continue the program after life at Saint Kentigern. However, this year we had seven students achieve this feat. Congratulations to Henry Lang, Marissa Jones, Ryan Johnson, Harry McNamara, Calla Lane, Imogen Perry and Charlotte Riach for their efforts.