Posted on: 28/09/2026
Posted on: 5/07/2026
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award: Proud of Our Participants - Giving Back and Stepping Up
As we said goodbye to our Y11s with their Bronze Award under their belts and wished them all the very best with their GCSE exams, the focus this term was very much on completing sections.
Year 10s
Another two Year 10 participants were awarded their ‘Certificates of Achievement’ for completing three of their four sections, with only the expedition to go. Congratulations to Hamzah Mustafa and Amelia Ball!
Expedition season is well and truly here. The students completed their navigation walk in April, along with a highly successful practice expedition in May.
The students reached the Golden Ball in West Wycombe in record time, and made it safely back to school, by 2pm, despite it being the hottest day of the year – so far……….
Little did we know in May, that June was going to be even hotter! Sadly, the closest the Y10s came to doing their expedition was practising pitching their tents on the school field â¹ With temperatures well into the 30s, a decision was made to postpone the expedition until early September. The health and well-being of our pupils and staff will always take priority and the Y10s took the news surprisingly well.
The good news is that all the learning modules have been completed, routes planned and kit purchased, so the students are all qualified to take part. The hard part may be finding another free weekend for the staff involved! Watch this space…….
Year 9s
The Y9s are making good progress with their sections.
For Skills, we have some budding musicians, talented henna artists, and two young cadets practising ‘drill’ every week. Plus, of course our wonderful cooks and bakers who continue to produce delicious creations – I was the lucky recipient of some yummy cookies recently! Next stop, Junior Bake Off?!?
We also have potential judo, karate and cross-country champions in our midst, alongside gifted footballers and badminton players who are busy adding evidence to their Physical section each week.
The Volunteering section is often the hardest to start, but the Y9s have shown great commitment and persistence in finding organisations that accept 14-year-olds. I am proud to say that Cressex Y9s are helping at local food banks, coaching sports to young children, and volunteering at Park Run each week. Some have even returned to their old primary schools, to support ex-teachers in class on a Friday afternoon. All these are wonderful examples of giving back to the local community.
Staff
As ever, none of this would be possible without the dedication and support of our fantastic staff. Thank you to our wonderful expedition team who have supported me and have made some difficult decisions this term.
A special mention goes to Mrs Harper in the library, who greets me and the participants with a smile and a welcome every Tuesday and Thursday, and copes with the low-level chatter as the pupils discuss their plans with me. Mrs Harper is going to have a busy Autumn as she assesses and approves all the awards for the new Y11s once they have completed their expedition.
Parents and carers, form tutors and assessors, thank you for the continued encouragement and support you give our young people. They have invested a great deal of time and effort in their awards, and your support helps ensure their portfolios capture the full breadth of their achievements, allowing all of their hard work and progress to be recognised and celebrated.
