"Being a part of the Duke of Edinburgh Hillary’s Award (DoE) since year ten has truly helped me develop as a leader within the school and my community." 

The Duke of Edinburgh Hillary’s Award is open to anyone aged 14–25 years old and can be completed by people with a wide range of ability levels. For me, the DoE programme is certainly one that has helped me get to where I am today. Currently, I am in the final stages of my Gold Award and this should be completed before the end of the year.

The Award consists of four sections that encourage you to get involved in your community and develop leadership skills. These sections are: community service, a skill, physical recreation and an adventurous journey. Once you get to gold level, you also need to complete a residential project.

For my adventurous journey, I went on a 4-day, 65km tramp in the Tararua ranges with 5 other people during the first week of the April school holidays. Staying at the South Ohau, Te Matawai, and Waiopehu huts, we were truly becoming one with nature and taking in some breathtaking views of our district.

I want to encourage every student to consider taking part in this award. If you have any questions at all, I am more than happy to answer them. You can also talk to  Mrs. Garner about the Award; without her help and support I would not have made it as far as I have, so  I also offer my sincerest gratitude and heartfelt thanks.