Good News

Mr Doel wanted to share with you some exciting news about The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) at The Winston Churchill School. We have just found out that our school has received a grant after successfully applying to the DofE’s Diamond fund enabling us to reach and support more disadvantaged young people who want to do their DofE at the WCSC.

With this funding, the WCSC will be able to achieve our three strategic aims:

1. Increase the number of participants at Bronze level, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We currently have 211 students taking part in the DofE Award, an increase of 174% from previous years placing us 5th in Surrey
2. Train a greater number of our own staff as Lowland Expedition Leaders, which enables us to become more self-sufficient when it comes to running expeditions. This allows us to provide affordable expeditions so that every student at the Winston Churchill School has the opportunity to undertake the Award, with the encouragement and support that they need
3. Provide more of our young people the opportunity, which may not otherwise have been open to them, to develop ‘soft’ skills and attributes for life and the workplace through reducing the barriers and the obstacles which can prevent young people from taking part in the DofE, such as providing a greater level of support and expedition equipment for our disadvantaged students

The DofE’s Diamond fund is made up of £1.5 million raised by over 15,000 supporters during the Charity’s Diamond Anniversary year (2016), £1 million from the #iwill Fund for England – a joint investment from The National Lottery and the Department of Culture, Media & Sport to support young people to access high quality social action opportunities – and additional DofE donations to double Diamond Anniversary fundraising in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. With a total of £3 million to invest over the next four years, the Charity aims to work with Licensed Organisations/centres, like the WCS, to give more disadvantaged young people the chance to develop life-changing skills and attributes – such as communication, determination and teamwork – for life and work, create new friendships and gain the confidence to reach their full potential.

Furthermore, the Diamond fund will allow students at the WCSC to embody our ethos of Service Before Self, whilst providing young people with the opportunity to develop their Resilience, Communication, Collaboration, Ingenuity and Analysis competencies.

Lastly, we’d like to thank you for your continued support of the WCSC and the DofE. We look forward to seeing the impact this funding has on our young people’s lives.