Congratulations to the following students who have achieved their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.

Bronze Award

• Isabella Fenn - 28 November 2023

• Abby Jacob - 11 January 2024

• Abby Bleakley - 15 January 2024

• Meg Chisholm - 19 February 2024

• Juhi Bothra - 19 February 2024

• Yuvin Cho - 6 December 2023

• Sophia Daly - 31 January 2024

Gold Award

• Kate Coutts - 27 November 2023

Well done to all of these students and in particular Kate Coutts who completed her Gold Award last year, while in Year 12 - this is an awesome achievement and involves commitment, and careful planning to complete the award in record time. Here are some reflections:

Bronze: Isabella Fenn

The Duke of Edinburgh bronze course was challenging but very rewarding. I enjoyed the whole process of completing my Bronze Award. I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone, tried new things and made so many new friends. The activities I spent my time doing were: For my skill, I went to Drama lessons, twice a week with my talented teacher Mrs Melbye. For my Service I spent Mondays after school helping out at a place called ‘Kiwi Kids’. This was a place where young children new to New Zealand could go to hang out after school and make new friends. Lastly, for my physical recreation I played netball. Overall my highlight of this experience had to be overcoming the challenges I faced on the tramp and proving to myself that I could do it.

Bronze: Yuvin Cho

In order to receive my Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award I had to participate in a skill, service, physical recreation, and complete multiple overnight tramps. For my skill I practised piano, where I worked towards my music exam at the end of last year. I played hockey for my physical recreation, and for my service I picked up rubbish around my neighbourhood every weekend. I enjoyed completing every part of this award, but the highlight for me was definitely going on all the tramps. I made heaps of new friends, and it was very rewarding seeing my hard work pay off when looking at the amazing views. The tramps taught me new skills I wouldn’t have learnt otherwise, like how to orientate a map, basic wild life skills, and more knowledge about New Zealand’s beautiful nature in general. Overall, doing Duke of Edinburgh was an amazing experience and I am excited to start my silver award!

Bronze: Abby Jacob

My Duke of Edinburgh was a highlight. It taught me challenges have rewards and perseverance was key, especially with the tramps. For my skill I learned to referee canoe polo. My Physical Recreation was canoe polo and I volunteered at the Massey Canine Unit. We socialised dogs and taught them new tricks. My best experience was my final tramp. We had every kind of weather from snow to sun, crossed all different types of bridges and the view was amazing!

Bronze: Abby Bleakley

My Bronze Duke of Edinburgh was an amazing experience and I can’t wait to start my silver! It provided many challenges but was overall very fun (while pushing me out of my comfort zone). For my skill I did vex robotics, where I practised building robots with other students from PNGHS. For my service, I volunteered at a local childcare centre, where I did science experiments with the kids, and for my physical recreation I played netball. The highlight of my award was my qualifying journey, as I had a small group so we were more tightly knit. I enjoyed the satisfaction of climbing to the top of the Ruahine ranges (near Cattle Creek). I especially loved roasting marshmallows over our fire at the hut.

Bronze: Sophie Daly

The Bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s Award challenged me to work outside my comfort zone. The highlight for me was growing my confidence and realising how much I am capable of. I committed to volunteering for six months at the Red Cross book shop. For physical recreation I attended weekly hip hop classes. For my skill I joined the Manawatū indoor rifle club, participating in weekly target practice. At the end of the season I earned first place in the club competition for my class. I enjoyed my adventurous journey, which pushed me well outside my comfort zone but now I know I can tramp for six hours through mud in the rain. I’ve already started on my silver award and would encourage anyone interested to find out what it's all about and give it a go.

Bronze: Juhi Bothra

The opportunity to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh programme was a great experience. I completed my Bronze badge, where I engaged in weekly tennis lessons for sport, violin lessons for my skill, and picked up rubbish around my neighbourhood reserves for volunteering. I developed and learnt so many valuable skills which helped me complete the challenges the badge offered me. I also went on three tramps, where I developed outdoor skills such as compass and map reading. The highlight of the award was the new experience I gained to be able to go on various tramps and learn new skills, while also overcoming my fears and going out of my comfort zone. Overall, the highlight of Duke of Ed was not just gaining new skills but also making a positive impact on my community and the world around me.

Bronze: Meg Chisholm

Doing Duke of Ed was an extremely rewarding experience. To complete this award I had to participate in a skill, physical recreation, service and do 3 overnight tramps. For my skill, I did drama lessons once a week with class act drama. This taught me how to be confident speaking in front of others. For my sport, I played basketball every friday which kept me fit and helped me practise my resilience. For service I volunteered at Just Zilch on Mondays once a week. This was probably my most rewarding activity as I got to help my community by helping to feed families in need. I went on 3 tramps which were super fun. I found that these tramps helped me connect with others and form new friendships with people I didn't know. My Duke of Ed highlight would probably be the tramps because I had so much fun going to new places and making new friends. Overall my experience doing Duke of Ed was very positive and I am excited to begin my silver award!