Volunteering is an important element of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and pupils at Mount Kelly have taken part in a variety of different placements this year, including working in the grounds of Buckland Abbey, volunteering in the local community and helping with a range of clubs at the Prep where they have enjoyed engaging with the younger pupils. These have included the topical 'Behold Plastic Man', Eco club, Warhammer and Airfix, Dover Patrol and Maths Quiz club.
Year 10 and 11 pupils working towards their Silver award have also helped at the Prep, taking on coaching roles in the football club, helping to supervise the baking club and using their English skills to help pupils with their creative writing and writing reports for the school newspaper.
In the local community, pupils were fortunate to have the support of several charity shops again this year, including St Luke’s Hospice shop, Oxfam and Oxfam bookshop. They have been required to carry out a range of tasks, including preparing donations to sell, stocking shelves, serving customers and understanding aspects of waste management and recycling. The pupils have enjoyed working with local volunteers, learning new skills and being part of a team. Their placement supervisors have commented on their willingness to try new things and applauded them as a credit to the school.
Mount Kelly is also grateful to Chollacott Residential Nursing home and Tavistock Memory Café for offering placements to our pupils. We could not run the volunteering programme without this support from the community.
