Student Council

The Student Council, formed from students in Years 7 to 11, attend weekly meetings to discuss academy life and the wider community. It is a really important way for students to have a say in how the Academy is run and decisions.

Senior Prefects

Senior Prefects act as aspirational role models to their peers across the student body and inspire younger students to strive for and achieve the same goal.

Applying for and achieving the role of Senior Prefect in Year 11 at Biddick Academy is the culmination and recognition of four years of hard work, high levels of personal expectation and consistent modelling of the school’s ethos and values.

Personal development

We ensure that every member of our school community knows that we are committed to supporting their physical health, safety, and emotional wellbeing throughout their journey with us. Personal Development encompasses the Academy’s core values and British values woven throughout each unit. Our Academy values are developed from our belief that every student should be provided with the knowledge and skills to become the best version of themselves. Our values integrated within our Personal Development curriculum are centred around respect and integrity for oneself and others.

Duke of Edinburgh's Award

 

What is the DofE 

A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers. 

The DofE is many things to many people, supporting generations to successfully navigate adult life. 

14–24 year-olds can do a DofE programme at one of three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, leads to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Biddick Academy run Bronze level. 

 There are four sections to complete at Bronze level. They involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition. 

Any young person can do their DofE – regardless of ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an Award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries. 

Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, teamworking, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and university and job applications. Top employersrecognise the work-ready skills Award holders bring to their business.

Bronze timescales 

It will take you at least 6 months to complete your Bronze award. 

–  Volunteering section: 3 months  

–  Physical section: 3 months 

–  Skills section: 3 months 

–  Expedition section: 2 days/1 night 

You also have to spend an extra three months on one of the Volunteering, Physical or Skills sections.The 3-month sections will be completed across November/ December/ January, as outlined during recruitment. It’s your choice which one and, though you can change your mind later, you should decide which section you want to do for longer at the beginning. Knowing how long you’re going to do it for will help you to choose your activity and set your goals for each section. 

In order to progress towards the expedition training from January, students must have completed the following:

• Uploaded 8 pieces of evidence for each section. They will then be able to add more for their chosen 6-month section.
• Students can access support during lunchtimes throughout the academic year in L018, if required.

The expedition takes place at the end of the academic year, a date will be confirmed as soon as possible. Students must have completed all other sections, inclusive of assessor reports, to be eligible for the expedition.

 

How to sign up? 

Recruitment takes place for students at the start of Year 10. There is an initial registration form and fee of £28 to be returned by Friday 11^th October 2024, to register on national eDofE database. There will also be another small fee for the expedition at the end of the year, although support may be available through the Biddick Access Fund if required. Expectation on students to attend weekly after school training sessions Jan- July 2025, in addition to independent collation of hours for sections. The expedition will be a physical challenge and require students to walk long distances with full rucksacks over 2 continuous days. Training sessions will include mapwork, route planning, First Aid, tent pitching and expedition prep. 

What happens once I’ve signed up? 

Students will attend a registration session in which they will receive a link to their eDofE account. This is where progress is logged through the DofE programme and where assigned Leader checks and approves completed activity in each section. Once their eDofE profile is set up they will be sent a Welcome Pack with lots of helpful information and personalised DofE Card to access discounts and offers on expedition kit and other items.  

Then, can start choosing what activities they want to do and decide goals with their leader. Once assessors have been chosen and your Leader has approved plans, ready to get going with your activities. 

Useful information

Sections https://www.dofe.org/do/sections/  

Ideas for activities https://www.dofe.org/do/ideas/

Supervision https://www.dofe.org/do/supervision/  

Activity logs https://www.dofe.org/do/activitylogs/  

Choosing Assessors https://www.dofe.org/do/assessors/ 

Expedition kit https://www.dofe.org/shopping/wp-

content/uploads/2023/07/Expedition-Kit-Guide-July2023-web.pdf  

DofE App https://www.dofe.org/do/app/  

If you have any further queries, please free to contact me on b[email protected]