Duke of Edinburgh 2025

Participants doing their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) Award at Gretton School are being celebrated for the amazing impact they have had on the local community. 

They have spent weekends volunteering at Barnardo’s Charity Shop in St Ives, offered tours of the school to prospective parents and learners, and supported staff during key events such as Pride celebrations and the Christmas Fair. Many have taken the initiative to run and promote lunchtime clubs for their peers, contribute to site-wide gardening and litter-picking projects, and act as mentors for younger KS2 learners during reading, PE, and art sessions. Beyond the school grounds, learners have also volunteered at local stables and farms, and supported their wider community by offering dog walking and grass cutting services to neighbours.

Gretton School welcomes autistic children and young people aged 5–19 years old, either as weekly boarders or day learners. Every learner at Gretton has a diagnosis of autism and the ability to learn at or above the level of their mainstream peers, but requires a specialist setting to truly thrive and achieve their remarkable potential. As autism specialists, they provide a consistent daily routine and familiar staffing to help reduce anxiety, ensuring learners feel safe, confident, and ready to engage. Gretton offers a wide range of meaningful experiences that help to build their learners’ confidence, develop their responsibility, and strengthen social skills, one of which being the Duke of Edinburgh Award. These real-world opportunities are especially significant in enabling the learners to express themselves, connect with others, and make a tangible difference beyond the classroom and prepare them for their next steps into the wider world. 

David Watkins, KS4 Lead & Exams Officer at Gretton School, said: “Seeing so many learners embrace the Duke of Edinburgh award by coming out of their comfort zones, particularly the volunteering section, is so rewarding for staff from a perspective of seeing them thrive in a new environment that isn't the classroom. It isn't easy for our leaners to begin with, but when they get going and feel the sense of collaboration, teamwork, increased confidence and sense of purpose, these lifelong skills contribute to their unique talents as they prepare for adulthood.”

In May, the DofE announced that a record-breaking 342,000 young people had started a DofE programme in 2024-25 – the highest since the charity was founded almost 70 years ago. During the same period, participants have contributed an astonishing 5.2 million hours of volunteering in communities all over the UK – with an estimated total value of £33.4 million. 

Changing lives and communities for the better

Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to see the impact that young people at Gretton School have made through their DofE volunteering. Volunteering is a great way for young people to build confidence, develop work-related skills and use their passions and talents to benefit others. It changes lives and communities for the better – that's why it’s an integral part of the DofE programme. We’re so proud of all the young people at Gretton School who have dedicated their time and energy to helping others in their communities.”

To do their DofE, young people aged 14-24 choose activities in four sections: improving a Physical and Skills activity, Volunteering for a cause of their choice, and completing a demanding Expedition. Along the way they have fun, grow in resilience and self-belief, discover new talents and passions, and learn practical skills to help them in future – while working towards a highly respected Award.  

Thanks to its incredible network of organisations delivering DofE, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is the largest facilitator of youth volunteering in the UK. Over the last four years, the DofE charity has focused on breaking down barriers to taking part – working with more community organisations, schools in deprived areas, further education colleges, prisons, and centres supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The charity is now aiming to achieve 1.6 million Award starts by spring 2026, so that even more young people can take part in a life-changing DofE programme.