DofE Awards Celebration Evening
Last week, staff at CNS, along with parents and carers, celebrated with students who had successfully completed their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, at the school’s Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards Celebration Evening.
The annual event is a special opportunity for the school to recognise and celebrate the fantastic achievements of the students who, this year, achieved an amazing 150 Awards between them. Award pins and certificates were presented to each of the students by former professional Norwich City Football Club player and club ambassador Darren Eadie.
The school is an official education partner of Norwich City Football Club, and it was delighted when Darren 
accepted the invitation to attend the event as guest speaker. During the evening, Darren gave an inspirational talk about his career, his experiences around mental health and the importance of kindness, courage and work ethic. The audience also heard from external expedition assessor Gordon Clarke who gave great insights into the student expedition experience, and Year 11 student Lucy who spoke eloquently about her participation in the scheme and how it has benefited her.
The event was a great success, with many happy students and families enjoying the celebrations. At the end of the evening one of the parents said “What a lovely evening. The DofE offers such fantastic opportunities. Thank you for all your organisation”
Another parent, who was unable to attend, wrote to the school and said “It is with sadness that we are unable to attend the D of E award ceremony. We would have very much liked to attend - not least to thank yourself and all the staff who put their valuable time, energy, skills and enthusiasm into the scheme for the young people of CNS. Please extend our appreciation of the value of this to all the staff and thanks to you all”.
Headteacher Jo Philpott said "Darren spoke of three key attributes for a successful life; hard work, courage and kindness which resonate with the ethos and values of CNS and the DofE Awards. Thank you to Mr Lee and the DofE team for their hard work throughout the year in making the award accessible and achievable for so many students."
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award inspires and transforms the lives of young people and participation is valued by employers and universities. CNS is a direct licensed centre for the scheme and students at the school can take part in DofE all the way from Bronze through to Gold. 2021-2022 saw the largest DofE cohort to date, with 120 Bronze, 34 Silver and 30 Gold participants, and an exceptional student completion rate. Students donated over 180 hours of voluntary service each week to the local community as a result of their participation in the scheme.
