King's High has an exceptional rate of participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme. Many girls cite this as one of the most rewarding and memorable experiences of their time here and gain valuable life skills which can be used both now and later in life. Each girl creates her own personal programme with the help of the leaders, choosing one activity from each of the following sections:

Volunteering: This is the chance to make a real difference by helping someone, your community, the environment or an organisation. This encourages an appreciation of others’ needs and a commitment to make a change.

Expedition: The aim of this task is to encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery. Before any expedition can be carried out, the girls are trained on a number of vital skills such as first aid and emergency procedures, map and compass skills, country code and team building.

The Bronze expedition takes the form of a self-reliant, unaccompanied venture, with the girls working in small teams, walking a minimum distance of 24km, camping one night and cooking all meals over the two days. To prepare for this we hold a weekly club, run a Saturday training conference in February, a navigation day at Coombe Abbey Country Park in March and a practice expedition in April.

The Silver and Gold expeditions follow a similar format but increase in difficulty in terms of walking distance and length of time away. The Silver expedition requires walking a minimum of 48km and 3 days away. We hold a practice expedition for this at Easter in the Peak District with the qualifying expedition held at the end of June also in the Peak District.  The Gold expedition requires an impressive minimum walking distance of 80km over a four day period with the practice in the Dark Peak area and the qualifying expedition in the North Yorkshire Moors.

Physical: This can be any sport, dance or fitness activity. It’s a chance to improve fitness, discover new abilities and experience a sense of achievement

Skills: This can be anything from learning a new instrument to public speaking and debating. It encourages the development of practical and social skills and also the opportunity to discover new talents.

Residential (for Gold only): This involves spending 5 days and 4 nights away from home on a shared activity with people you’ve never met before. From learning to snowboard in Scotland to helping at a children’s camp, from working with the National Trust to helping on an urban recycling project, or from learning French in Paris to sailing a tall ship, there are loads of exciting possibilities to find the activity that’s just right for you.