Network Ryde, Ryde Town Council’s Youth Service, has successfully presented 22 awards to their young people who have completed their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.
The award ceremony took place at Ryde Academy on Thursday 25th November and was attended by proud parents, teachers, friends, family and professionals. The High Sheriff of the Isle of Wight, James Attrill, presented 20 Bronze and 2 Silver Awards. Ryde’s Mayor, Michael Lilley, closed the evening by congratulating all the young people.
Network Ryde has worked hard to support local young people to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, which has been more challenging than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The award is in different sections: Skills, Voluntary, Physical and Expedition. The young people can choose their sections and have to evidence their journey with pictures and written accounts which are uploaded to ‘eDofE’ and assessed to ensure they have met their goals.
The last section is the expedition; they first plan a practice route and then plan an assessed expedition to complete their award. The Bronze Award is 2 days, 1 night and the Silver award is 3 days, 2 nights. Before the expeditions, the young people plan their walking routes, learn map reading skills, and how to put up a tent; they also learn about what food to bring and how to successfully pack a rucksack. Network Ryde’s Phil, Bex and Jo attended all the expeditions over the summer and even camped at the end of October!
During the award ceremony, the young people had the opportunity to share short presentations in their groups of their expedition experiences. They talked about their expedition aims, such as looking for local flora and fauna and shared pictures of their time walking and camping. This was a fantastic opportunity for the guests at the ceremony to see the behind-the-scenes moments, which were full of wonderful and funny memories which the young people will remember fondly for the rest of their lives.
Rebecca Swan, Network Ryde’s Youth Work Manager comments:
“We are exceptionally proud of all of our young people who have achieved their Awards in the most difficult of circumstances. Covid-19 has meant that some sections have had to be changed or adapted to fit in with guidelines and also meant the expedition section was delayed however it was an amazing experience for all the young people who achieved their Awards.”
Bronze Awards were presented to: Jack Budden, Jake McCartney, Jack Hamilton, Ella Brooks-Pepper, Lillie Ghetty-Evans, Charlotte Fancourt, Pip Johnson, Rosie Johnson, Blake Cotton, Milly Hughes, Talitha Monaghan, Sarah Witherington, James Nettleton, Amber Hunt, Tom Parsons, Sian Evans, Rhys Mundell, Dan Orme, Lily Meredith and Alex Keyse
Silver Awards were presented to Lily Meredith and Dan Orme.
