A True ‘Plus Ultra’ Effort
When we first found out that Year 12 student, Grace S, had her Gold Award approved by the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award office, we knew it was a great achievement, but we didn’t know quite how rare it was. In reaching the Gold level, Grace has joined an elite group of St Peters students—she is now the 28th student to receive a Gold Award since 1986!
To complete her award, Grace exhibited a ‘Plus Ultra’ effort, aiming ever higher in all her pursuits. The ‘Duke of Ed’ program saw her honing a skill, offering her time in an act of service, embarking on an adventurous journey, completing a residential project and demonstrating her abilities in physical recreation. While, to most, this would seem an all-consuming process, Grace did it while studying the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP), holding a Prefect position and remaining involved in a range of co and extra-curricular activities at the College. What an inspiration!
Duke of Ed at St Peters
St Peters students first started taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award program in 1983. Since then, 56 students have undertaken the Gold level of the Award, yet only 27 students have achieved it. That is, until Grace did this year. Currently, there are nine Year 11 and 12 students at the College who are on track to achieve their Gold Award—a great reflection on both our students and the program itself.
The Journey to Gold
Grace’s Duke of Edinburgh Award journey was different to most. Instead of starting with the Bronze Award, Grace went straight to the Silver level. While this meant that, instead of taking 12 months to complete her Silver (rather than the standard six), she went on to complete her Gold Award in an impressive timeframe—just 18 months alongside her numerous other commitments!
Grace is an extremely proficient pianist. She spends hours practising and used this as the Skill component of her Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. The other activities she completed were:
- Service: Transcribing texts and data from historical documents to make them digitally accessible; taking responsibility for the College’s International Baccalaureate Newsletter
- Adventurous Journey: Kayaking and hiking in the Marramarra National Park
- Residential Project: Environmental service with Sunshine Coast Council; service projects at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre
- Physical Recreation: Running and Yoga
In completing all of the above, Grace proved that not only is she very community minded, she’s an incredibly well-rounded student. Congratulations, Grace. We’re so proud of you and this achievement!
To find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh Award at St Peters, click here.
