SSV Students Celebrate Gold International Award Success

On 7 March, nine of our Senior School Voorschoten (SSV) Year 13 learners were invited to Breda by the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) International Award to receive their Gold Award certificates and medals alongside six peers from other schools.

Most of our learners achieved the Bronze and Silver International Awards first before progressing to Gold, which means each of them completed a minimum of 191 hours toward their qualifying Physical Recreation, 191 hours learning a skill, and 191 hours volunteering. For their Adventurous Journeys, they spent 14 days walking, kayaking, and carrying out research, and 9 nights camping. One student participated in an additional Silver Adventurous Journey to support her friends - demonstrating true dedication, and a testament to the spirit our Awardees possess.

As the Adventurous Journeys are the true highlights, here is what they completed to achieve their Awards:

• Bronze: Walking between Breda and Tilburg via Alphen-Chaam over two days
• Silver: Walking and exploring the island of Schiermonnikoog, walking along the coast from Voorschoten to Noordwijk (in brutally cold and windy conditions!) or kayaking through the Biesbosch, with each of the activities lasting three days
• Gold: Walking or researching flora and fauna in different ecosystems within the Roosendaal area for four days
• Residential: Working in a lion reservation in Ubuntu for one week (which was also very cold, as it was in the South African winter). It involved cooking their own food over a campfire every evening. True perseverance and survival skills were demonstrated here!

During the Gold Award ceremony, the eight students in attendance gave a presentation on their skills and Gold Journeys. They spoke confidently, enthusiastically and fondly about their experiences and memories they made. It was a joy to listen to them, and they received many compliments afterwards from the International Award representatives.

Achieving the Gold Award after completing the other Awards is a truly amazing accomplishment. It is worth noting that, within their year group, fewer than 10 per cent of those who started the Award Bronze in Year 10 have achieved their Gold Award.

Huge congratulations to Beatrix, Alice, Florenzia, Dahlia, Sophie, Hannah, Saskia, Zoe and Sohan (who unfortunately could not attend the Award ceremony).

The International Award Team is tremendously proud, along with their parents and the wider school community.

Well done!

Thank you to Ursula Pucovská for this article.

Find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh International Award at The British School in the Netherlands (BSN)
 

Ursula Pucovská Ursula Pucovská is a Physics Teacher at Senior School Voorschoten and is also the Coordinator for the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Silver.