Category: Bronze

DofE new term online schedule

New Bronze 3rd year: Bronze students meet online on Tuesdays this term starting on Tuesday 19 January 4pm. All enrolled students will have received a Teams invite.

New Silver 4th Year: Silver students meet online later in January from Tuesday 26 January at lunchtime 1.10pm. All enrolled students will have received a Teams invite.

Silver 5th Year: after Mocks please do your best to finish your Silver Award. Details here: How to finish your Award.

L6 Gold groups should please complete their Training Expedition planning by Friday 15 January. They will then start Qualifying planning. Silver students must finish their Bronze to start Silver. Please contact staff if you have any snags with finishing Bronze by February half term.

U6 Gold after Mocks please do your best to complete your Award. Details here: How to finish your Award

If you have any questions at all about DofE please contact staff at school. You are also asked to look at the pages on this website which cover advice for all sections of DofE including expeditions and dates and how to start your award and how to finish your award.

Bronze start-up news

3rd Years signed up in groups last week. A reminder that you must return your reply slip to be enrolled, it is not enough to sign up in a group only….this does not mean you are enrolled.

Details about how to get started and each section are available on this website. However, there is no rush to start anything but you may wish to think about your sections. Read these pages for information:

How to get Started

Skill

Volunteering

Physical Activity

Expedition dates

Kit list and advice

New Bronze DofE sign up!

3rd Years Thursday and Friday lunchtime… come and see staff in the playground to sign up in draft bronze groups.

Don’t worry if you haven’t got a group yet SIGN UP anyway so we can help you form groups.

Everyone who wants to do Bronze must sign up.

Bring your enrolment reply slip signed by a parent to school if you haven’t done so already.

RGS DofE

Reigate Grammar School has run DofE at Bronze, Silver and Gold levels continuously for over 50 years, one of the longest running and most successful DofE school units in the UK.  Countless thousands of our students have benefitted from the challenge of the Award.

These pages are to help our students and parents navigate a successful Award.

Please use the links ABOVE to see pages designed to help participants.

moving typha down river

Bronze qualifying expedition North Downs

Over 100 students trekked off for their two day Bronze qualifying expedition 9-10 October in fine settled weather with misty damp autumn mornings.  Most groups performed very well in expedition skills.  Groups met the standards required in navigation and camp craft and, where they met difficulties they mostly fixed these independently.  In particular, assessing staff were pleased with teams LEAVING NO TRACE at their camp.  As is usual, navigation skills varied somewhat but we could see an effort to improve in groups lacking natural navigators.  A willingness to improve and persevere with expedition skills is important for those going on to silver.  Remember that DofE expeditions are not a race and that safe, considerate and purposeful travel across the countryside is the priority, not raw speed.  Visiting every single check point is critical to safe travel, as is communication with your assessor if something goes wrong.  Groups arrived at the end between 10am and 2pm, which is usual.  It was heartening that many found the time to say thank you to their assessors and supervisors who had looked after them and camped out too.  Well done all!

Bronze training hike May 2015

125 students and their Gold Award Leaders trekked off on their Bronze practice hike May3-4. The two day expedition covered 15 miles over the local North Downs area around Reigate and included 5 different camp locations.  The weather started wet and then improved to excellent walking conditions: cool and breezy. Groups performed well and supervising staff were pleased with their navigation ability.  A few groups went wrong but they corrected themselves effectively.  Camp craft was also pleasing with groups cooking some interesting meals, keeping a tidy camp and “leaving no trace” on departure.  As this was their first Bronze expedition it bodes very well for their October qualifying expeditions.