There is a history of this scheme here at All Saints’ and Marsden, as both schools were running the Duke of Edinburgh program beginning in the 1960s. Marsden began running the scheme in the early 1960s, and many girls achieved various levels over the next 10 years. There was great excitement when the late Duke of Edinburgh visited Bathurst and Marsden School on 26 October 1973. On that day, he presented Gold Awards to 16 recipients in Bathurst – 15 Marsden girls.
We have an Honour Board here in the Kemmis building, and there are the names of 35 girls who completed the program in the years 1972 to 1976. Since then, as Marsden was amalgamated with All Saints’, the program stopped for a while until the 1990s, when it began under the management of teacher Trevor Hegvold and parent Lee Steele. Over the next 15 years, many students joined the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and completed various stages. Our records held here have given 21 more names of those who completed the program between 1992 and 2004 and received their Gold Award, and we have added those to the Honour Board.
The Duke of Edinburgh program relies very much on the volunteers, instructors and teachers who manage and oversee the many different activities involved, as each participant can choose their own program to follow. In the archives, we have collected some photos of various groups at different activities in their pursuit of the awards.
It is encouraging to see that the Duke of Edinburgh program is still going strong at Scots All Saints, and hopefully, many will eventually achieve their Gold Award to join those who have gone before them.
Mrs Memory Sanders
All Saints’ College Archives
