Students conquer Snowdonia for Gold D of E Award

1 October 2018

More than a dozen students from Birkenhead Sixth Form College completed the expedition component of their Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Gold Award in Snowdonia over the last few days.

A total of 13 second year students undertook navigating across the Welsh National Park, hiking in groups and working together to overcome a range of challenges.

The expedition completion comes after the College received an official plaque as a Licensed Organisation from the DofE as a thank you from the charity for running the award for our students. Over the years, hundreds of students have completed their expeditions and received expert guidance on the other Gold Award components whilst at the College.

The DofE is widely acknowledged as the world’s leading youth achievement award, and along with the expedition, it involves volunteering, learning a skill, getting fit and taking part in a week-long residential. Invaluable skills are developed whilst undertaking the Award such as confidence, commitment, resilience and team work.

Paul Moore, Duke of Edinburgh lead at the College, said: “All 13 students embodied determination and resilience to work through physically demanding routes, carrying supplies and kit for the whole expedition. The groups were extremely lucky to have excellent weather conditions throughout, but the whole College DofE team are proud of their achievements and the assessor even commented on how well they worked in their groups.

“Our students are encouraged to push themselves outside of their comfort zones when doing their DofE and the skills that they develop can be life-changing, so for us to play a part in this is something very special.”

The DofE themselves said: “Through the DofE, Birkenhead Sixth Form College is inspiring the success of its students, equipping them with the attributes and skills they need to take their next steps and build strong relationships, whilst opening up their worlds and introducing them to a broad range of interests. We are truly grateful to the College for the work that they do and they are an integral part of the DofE family.”