Learn more about the Duke of Edinburgh Programme!

Date

13.08.24

Duke of Edinburgh Silver & Bronze Practice Journey

From Thursday, 25th until Saturday, 27th July, our pupils from 1EM and 2EM levels our Silver and Bronze groups of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Programme, participated in their respective Practice Journeys along the coast of the O’Higgins Region. The Bronze group walked North from Matanzas to La Boca and the SIlver group walked South from Punto Topocalma, via Playa Monaco and Pichilemu to Cahuil, accompanied by their teachers.

The purpose of these Practice Journeys is to prepare for the Adventure Journeys, which will take place in November. The Practice Journeys provide the groups an opportunity to build their team, build on their skills, to ensure that the packing and equipment is appropriate and achieve various self-set goals, ranging from conducting studies on flora and fauna to strengthening social bonds.

What is The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award (DofE)?

This is a youth development programme aimed at fostering personal growth and leadership in young people aged 14 to 24. Founded in 1956 by the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, it has inspired over 1.3 million people and expanded to more than 130 countries worldwide due to its success.

DofE was established with the goal of providing pupils with tools to help them discover their passions, celebrate their achievements, and inspire them to dream every day to become agents of change. Participants must engage in various areas, choosing a physical activity, a skill, and a community service.

We invite you to watch this video about the origins of the programme:

It is important to note that this programme promotes activities as a personal challenge rather than a competition against others, encouraging young people to step out of their “comfort zone” and pursue their aspirations. The DofE includes three levels and four sections:

Bronze: for ages 14 and above
Silver: for ages 15 and above
Gold: for ages 16 and above

Participants must complete the four sections at each level:

Skill: Develop a skill or talent, such as playing a musical instrument or a sport.
Service: Engage in community service or volunteer work.
Adventure: Participate in an outdoor expedition or adventure.
Physical: Improve physical fitness through regular exercise.

For more information, we invite you to watch this video about the programme:

What is the relationship between The Grange School and the DofE?

The Duke of Edinburgh Programme has been part of our school since 2016, when Prince Edward, former Earl of Wessex and current Duke of Edinburgh, visited The Grange School in September of that year to support the programme and strengthen the relationship between Chile and the United Kingdom, as well as with our school.

To watch Prince Edward’s visit to our school, click here:

In this way, The Grange School adopted this significant programme to provide our pupils with the opportunity to be part of this great experience. Years later, in 2022, five representatives from our school achieved the Gold Award, the highest distinction of the DofE, and were recognised in a special ceremony in August 2023.

We invite you to read the related article by clicking here:

Read Article

How and when can our pupils enroll?

Every year, in April, we present the programme to 1EM pupils in an assembly, with videos from our own groups and the DofE material. We are always fortunate to have senior pupils and alumni present their personal experiences to the 1EM pupils.

Pupils interested in the programme are given a form to fill in and send their ‘letter of intent’ back to the teachers. We follow-up this intent with an email to parents with information about the programme so that they can talk to their children and confirm their participation.

We would like to congratulate our pupils, alumni and staff for their continued support of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award programme and we encourage you to have your children join this exciting programme.

We share with you some reflections by pupils who participated in the past weekend in the Silver Journey.

Duke of Edinburgh, Silver Practice Journey 7/24

Our journey started in Caleta Los Huachos and ended in Cahuil. Throughout this expedition, we faced many hardships, but these taught us valuable skills that will certainly help us perform our best in future expeditions. Weeks before setting off, all the groups made the necessary preparations for a successful trip, such as making the route card, studying the map and routes thoroughly, and creating a food and equipment list.

1st Day:

We arrived at Caleta Los Huachos around 10 AM. There, we reviewed our maps and revised our route cards before starting the march. We walked through amazing forests for four hours before stopping for lunch. After lunch, our next stop was Playa Tanumé. We walked eight kilometers through more forest to finally arrive at a beautiful beach, where we rested for 30 minutes before setting out for our goal: Jimenez.

We continued walking along the beach around 4 PM, passing the ruins of Casona Tanumé, a house that belonged to a millionaire and had burned down. As the sun was setting and we had not yet arrived in Jimenez, we faced a difficult decision: to continue until we found a good camping spot or to walk in the dark until we reached Jimenez. We opted for the second choice, walking for three more hours in the night before deciding to abandon our plan to reach Jimenez and camp where we found a water source.

We ended up camping on top of a mountain that had a water source, which fishermen used for storage. We decided that we needed to wake up early the next day and have breakfast in Jimenez so we wouldn’t be late for our next day’s goal: Pichilemu.

2nd Day:

The night’s sleep had refreshed us as a group, and with this newfound energy, we set off south once again towards Playa Monaco to eat our breakfast. We arrived at this point and had access to water that we could use for cooking. After this meal, we got back up and began trekking again. After hours of walking, the destination was almost in sight, so we sat down and quickly ate breakfast before making our way towards the last stretch of beach, albeit a very long beach.

After finally arriving, we set up camp in our accommodation in Pichilemu and got some supplies from the local shops to prepare that night’s barbecue and the following morning’s breakfast. The dinner was amazing, and it was a much-needed opportunity to recover from the hardships of earlier. We needed to get up at 6:15 the next day, so we went straight to our tents after dinner.

3rd day:

On the third and final day of our journey we left the camping site at around 8:30 after havingbreakfast, putting away our tents and packing up everything in order to begin the last stretch of our trail. A sense of excitement and anticipation was present among the group as we neared the end of our expedition. Initially, we decided to continue walking across the streets of Pichilemu instead of along the beach, as this would be less time consuming. Eventually we decided to walk across the beach for about an hour taking in the landscape of the stunning beach for the last time.

Our final destination was arriving at the town of Cahuil, the physical exhaustion coupled with the time, proved to be a challenge, this is why as a team we made the decision of adjusting our original route, opting to leave the beach and take the road instead. For the final 2 hours, we followed a straight road. Despite the last kilometres being particularly tough, our collective resilience and determination were crucial in reaching Cahuil, where the bus awaited us. Before setting off to Santiago we rested and ate delicious empanadas at a local shop in Cahuil. Ultimately we felt complete satisfaction of accomplishing our practice journey.