Students recognised for achieving their Duke of Edinburgh Award

The event, which took place in Judgemeadow Community College’s auditorium, saw the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Ms Mehmooda Duke MBE DL, alongside school Principals, present awards for both Bronze and Silver Awards to students from Beauchamp College, Judgemeadow Community College, Sir Jonathan North Girls’ College, Martin High School, The Cedars Academy and Humprey Perkins School. Two very worthy Gold Award recipients from Beauchamp City Sixth Form were also in attendance but are awaiting their formal presentation at ‘The Palace’ later in the year! 

As part of Lionheart’s commitment to ensuring a wide-ranging and holistic education to complement the academic offer, The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme has continued to go from strength-to-strength, with all secondary schools within the Trust now taking part. Students from The Newbridge and The Castle Rock Schools are, however, early on in their DofE journey having only joined Lionheart in September 2022 and expect to gain their awards in the coming year.  

The scheme requires students to undertake community work, fitness, the learning of new skills and a residential expedition, with successful participants gaining an award that stands out on CVs and is well-respected by employers. Across all areas of the award scheme, on completion, each student will have invested over 1500 hours of their time. 

Recognising the achievements of Lionheart’s Duke of Edinburgh award winners, Scheme Manager, Ian Coward said: “We offer students a framework to grow their personal development, however, it is their independent commitment, resourcefulness and resilience that leads to their success.”  

Beauchamp College student, Milan, who achieved the Bronze award spent his volunteering hours cleaning his street weekly, whereas Beauchamp’s Ava learned to play the piano as her newly acquired skill. 

Judgemeadow’s silver award winner, Yusuf, not only learned new woodworking skills, but gained lots of confidence while doing so. At Sir Jonathan North Girls’ College, Bronze award recipient, Maya, made tremendous progress in her Bollywood dance classes while undertaking the required hours for the ‘physical’ aspect of the award. At The Cedars Academy, Martha’s volunteering at the local Rainbows unit has seen her develop as a wonderful young leader. 

With the Lionheart scheme led by a dedicated Duke of Edinburgh Award Manager, Ian Coward, students visited Leicestershire, Rutland, Brecon Beacons and the Peak District for their expeditions, with many commended for their expedition efforts. Among those were Jonah at Martin High who was commended for his excellent map reading and navigation skills, Isla at Humphrey Perkins for her determination to get to the finish line, and Muhammad at Judgemeadow for keeping up the team morale. Over the two expeditions undertaken, bronze students walked 25 miles and silver award students 45 miles.