Valued highly by both universities and employers, Duke of Edinburgh Gold is a highly prestigious, nationally recognised qualification. We offer all Sixth Form students the opportunity to take part in the Gold Award, irrespective of their previous level of achievement. The award enables students to develop a vast range of skills, both physical and mental, and they are supported by specialist, highly trained staff. Ridgewood School hosts the largest Duke of Edinburgh Award cohort within Doncaster and has a proven track record of great success.

Ridgewood School is proud of having formed an exciting partnership with the Doncaster Rovers Club Foundation in order to provide students with opportunities to take part in the NCS programme. Students complete the scheme during the summer holidays and spend two weeks away from home; the first week involves a residential activity and the second week is spent volunteering within local charities. In addition to forging new friendships and collaborations, students can ‘give back’ to a community and develop a range of transferable skills that stand them apart from their peers. Many of the Sixth Form students who were involved in NCS have also become NCS Ambassadors.

If you are interested in developing your interpersonal skills, research, communication and presentation skills, or you enjoy considering the world around you by thinking about different arguments, engaging with opposing views and speaking strategically, you will relish being part of the Ridgewood Debate Team. Each week students take part in a debate competition, examining ideas and policies with the aim of persuading people within an organised structure. Last year the team won The Helena Kennedy Centre Debate Competition at Sheffield Hallam University.

In addition to their scheduled lessons, students at our Sixth Form have the opportunity to complete a Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC). MOOCs are online courses offered by a variety of renowned universities from around the world, and enable students to access a variety of subjects. MOOCs enable students to experience university level study in a flexible and supportive online environment.

If you want to make a difference with students in our main school, and have the skills and qualities of compassion, active listening and offering support and guidance, our mentoring programme is for you. Students are trained in the skills of mentoring, and are paired with main school students who they work with throughout the year, seeing Ridgewood main school students grow in confidence as a result of their input. The benefits of this scheme are immeasurable and include students developing their own leadership and communication skills as well as the reward of helping others.