Heidi Alexander, MP for South Swindon and Secretary of State for Transport, visited The Deanery Church of England Academy on Friday 24 October, accompanied by Ruth Marvel, Chief Executive of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE).
During the visit, the pair met with Year 10 and Year 11 students who have been participating in the DofE scheme, as well as staff leading the programme at the school. Around forty students in Years 9 to 11 typically take part in the Bronze Award each year.
Ms Alexander and Ms Marvel met with Jon Young, Executive Principal of The Deanery, to discuss student participation and the benefits of the DofE scheme, which strongly aligns with the school’s core values of Resilience and Service.
Students also had the opportunity to showcase some of the skills they have been developing as part of their DofE journey. A number of participants have taken up baking as their chosen skill, and the visitors joined them in completing some of their cakes.
They later met Neil Bryars, teacher and DofE leader at The Deanery, who is himself a former DofE award holder. Mr Bryars shared how the programme builds confidence, teamwork, and resilience in young people.
Following the tour, Ms Alexander and Ms Marvel joined students for tea, cake, and hot chocolate during a roundtable discussion about their recent expedition near Pewsey. Students reflected on the challenges of orienteering, camping, and outdoor cooking, and spoke about their volunteering experiences — from cleaning churches and working in charity shops to helping with youth sports coaching.
Speaking after the visit, Heidi Alexander MP said:
“It was brilliant to meet with students at The Deanery and to chat with them about their experiences doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. I was really impressed by how engaged they all were in the programme, and I loved hearing about their volunteering work in the community in Swindon — from working in charity shops at the weekend, through to cleaning churches and helping younger children with sports coaching.
It’s great that the school and DofE are helping students to expand their horizons, encouraging them to be good citizens, as well as giving them the essential skills they will need as they move into work and further education. It was an inspiring way to end the week, and I look forward to visiting the school again soon.”
Jon Young, Executive Principal, added:
“We are very proud of all the students who are aiming for a Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award, and this was a special opportunity to talk about the range of benefits of taking part with both our local MP and the CEO of the scheme itself.
We are very grateful to Heidi Alexander and Ruth Marvel for coming to visit us; they were very generous with their time, and the students gained a lot from their conversations about the DofE scheme.”
