We encourage boys to look beyond what they feel is possible, both academically and outside of the classroom. We are thrilled to announce, therefore, that over the last academic year, our boys gave a whopping 1,638 hours’ worth of voluntary work in the community as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Work in the community can take various forms, and our boys have embraced many different types of voluntary work, including working in charity shops, coaching in local sports clubs, clearing shrubbery in local parks and even helping in the Prep School.
Fifth Former James Deardon told us, “For my bronze and silver DofE, I have been volunteering at the Oxfam charity shop in town. I have been going every Thursday, from 4.30pm until 5.45pm, and occasionally at weekends.
I have been doing numerous tasks, such as putting books up for sale online and sorting out the display of the shop. So far I am pleased to say that I am enjoying this work and finding it very beneficial. I feel like I am now taking a more active role in tackling poverty, and that I am helping not just the local community, but also poorer ones outside of the country. It has also given me some basic experience on how shops are run, and how I can work effectively in such an environment.”
It is a wonderful way for boys to enjoy new experiences, discover hidden talents, challenge themselves, work as part of a team, and develop planning and problem solving skills, as well as make a difference to other people’s lives. The awards also give boys a huge sense of achievement from overcoming physical and mental challenges.
Lower Sixth Former Ben Parrish decided to volunteer in our Prep School and said, “For my bronze DoFE volunteering I helped the Prep School running club. This was very useful for me as I was able to help out younger boys do something they enjoyed. For my Silver DoFE volunteering I helped in the Prep School late room giving the boys assistance with their prep. These were both very useful activities which I personally learnt a lot from as well as the boys too, I hope.”