At the end of April, the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award (DofE), in partnership with The Kellner Family Foundation, hosted an educational weekend for teachers called DofE Leader Camp. Over a hundred teaching staff from across the country who are involved with the DofE programme met in the beautiful premises of the Open Gate Grammar and Primary School in Babice near Prague to inspire each other and share their experiences.
During this three-day event, leaders had the opportunity to attend a number of interesting lectures and workshops. The event kicked off on Friday 28 April 2023 with DofE Executive Director Tomáš Vokáč thanking the teachers for their dedicated work and reminding them that the programme is currently being implemented by more than 320 organisations in the Czech Republic. The audience in the hall was then captivated by Jan Mühlfeit and Kateřina Krůtová, who dedicated their presentation to the topic of Unlocking Children's Potential.
On Saturday, participants moved between workshops covering topics such as DofE expeditions, how to combat burnout syndrome and how to recognise the potential of children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds.
The smooth running of the event was also overseen by Luděk Michalík, Deputy Headteacher at Open Gate, who is an experienced DofE coordinator: 'I have been doing DofE at the school for 15 years. The biggest positive impact I see in our school is that the programme blurs the distinction between children studying on a social grant and the rest of the pupils. The DofE in a school can change the dynamics of a team and I think that's an awfully good thing."
We held the DofE Leader Camp again after three years and we are grateful that thanks to the support of The Kellner Family Foundation, the event could take place at Open Gate School.
