The Danes Anchor Award
This year the students in Years 7 and 8 have been working towards their Bronze (Year 7) and Silver (Year 8) Danes Anchor Award run by Mrs Kirby, the Danes Baccalaureate Programme Manager. The award aims to celebrate all that the students do in and out of the classroom and in and out of school. The aim of the award is to encourage the students to develop their character traits of Confidence, Curiosity, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Commitment and Craftsmanship.
The aims of the award are:
- To ensure students are engaged fully in wider school life
- To develop the core principles of Excellence, Respect and Trust
- To inspire Confidence, Curiosity and Courage
- Build on the schools core values of Trust, Respect and Excellence
The award is split into 6 sections: Commitment, Communication, Teamwork, Community, Curious and Active. The aim is for the students to demonstrate they have met the requirements for each section before gaining their Bronze or Silver Danes Anchor award.
The students have been curious with their SMSC talks in form time. Year 8 students have been involved in form assemblies and showed excellent communication skills. Students have been involved in sport, lunchtime and after school clubs. Students have started to be more involved in their community with litter picks, helping others and school fairs, tidying classrooms and in the gardens.
We are pleased the following students have now achieved their Bronze Award:
Shanyah C, Leo H, Ronil R, Simba M, Martha W, Michael C
And the following students have achieved their Silver Award:
Ishwari P, Prisha Y
We look forward to all students submitting their evidence on Google Classroom over the next 6 weeks. All students in Year 7 and Year 8 should be able to complete their award.
Here are some of the positive reflections of the students who have completed their awards so far.
“I have participated in several activities and learnt lots from the different clubs I have attended. I have found out many interesting facts in Science Club, explored different communication/oracy skills in Debate Club, performed in Shrek the Musical which was a wonderful experience. Volunteering was an excellent opportunity for me to help out in the LRC which is one of my favourite places. I thoroughly enjoyed helping to write book reviews for the school library website and shelving books. The Teamwork section encouraged me to join the Cyberfirst Girls Competition in which I took part in the Qualifying Round. In the next round, I represented our school in the East of England's Regional Final. Overall, taking part in the Danes Anchor Award has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience.”
“I have learnt about many different clubs and the opportunities given at St Clement Danes for example, I am part of 2nd Orchestra, Woodwind band, Teen Book Club. It has also given me the confidence to interview for the Learner Voice Council which I am now part of and seeks to improve school learning and school life.”
“I've learnt that spending more time in the community can help you open up to others. Working as a team can get jobs done faster. I've also learnt that during Charities week the school has made donating to charities fun for all the students.”
“I have learnt that being kind and respectful towards others is very important. I have learnt from friends that you should include everyone in activities if you see anyone alone.”
“During my Danes Anchor Award, I learnt how to use maps to find places. Learning how to use maps helped me and my team find their way through the forest because we weren’t told the route. I also learnt how to sail better and to sail in groups. Learning how to sail in groups makes it easier so I can sail double-handers. I also had to overcome the fear of capsizing in sailing to achieve my goal. During my Danes Anchor Award, I overcame a long hike at midnight where I was very tired but still managed to keep going untill the end and completed the hike. In scouts, there was a game we had to play in the dark in a forest, although I was scared of the dark and was losing a lot, I managed to overcome that fear and won the game for my team.”
“I have learnt to trust myself and that there are lots of opportunities in the school so you can be anything you want to be.”
“You should always help and be kind to others.”
“During the time I have been doing my Bronze Anchor Award I have made friendships and learnt how to be a team player in all sorts of subjects e.g. creating/art and sports. I think this has made me more confident on a netball court and being around lots of other people. I have many friends from netball and doodle club, and we all have a nice friendship.”
“I enjoyed going to a club for 15 weeks, as there are good club communities and I have been able to make friends in other year groups. While helping at my local school fair, it was fun to interact with people from my primary school that I hadn't spoken to for a while. I also played basketball every Sunday and badminton every Tuesday. Sport has started to make me fitter which is really good and makes you feel great. At school I found a topic that I wanted to research and then I presented it with my partner to the class, which was terrifying. We were the first people to present, so I guess it made it a bit easier as there wasn't a level of expectation. The research helped me find some new points that I wouldn’t have thought of by myself, which was great. Working as a team is good because you can get the job done faster but it requires good coordination to get the benefits!”
