OURADVENTURERS
PUSHING THE LIMITS
MOUNTAINS WILL MOVE
DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD PROGRAM At our Term 2 Commencement Service, Principal Nicola Taylor spoke to the girls in her presentation, reflecting on the life and contribution of the Duke of Edinburgh, HRH Prince Philip. An enduring legacy remains the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award which was founded in 1956 at the urging of the Prince’s former headmaster. From the outset, this award has been offered equally to girls as well as boys. The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award provides a unique experience to acquire a range of skills in collaboration with others. With our high participation and completion rates in the scheme, PLC Armidale features as one of the top 100 providers in Australia. Each year over 1.3 million young people take part in the scheme in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide. “If you can get young people to succeed in any area of activity,” the Duke of Edinburgh
remarked, “that sensation of success will spread over into a lot of other areas also.” A man of advantage who used his life experiences to bring advantage to others. Over the past 15 years, the Duke of Ed award at PLC Armidale has grown enormously, from 6 students to an average of 70 each year, participating in and progressing through all 3 levels of the Award, Bronze, Silver and Gold. We asked our former Duke of Edinburgh Award coordinator, Mrs Anna Caldwell, about some of her most memorable moments from her years running Duke of Ed at PLC Armidale. “In 2012 a large group of girls and their mothers went to the School of St Judes, Arusha, Tanzania. We raised money through numerous fundraising events, including a Ball, to sponsor 10 girls at St Judes to climb Mt Meru with us. Mt Meru is the second highest mountain in Tanzania. We set off at midnight to make the summit at sunrise, rising over Kilimanjaro and the incredible national parks.
