Ethan says he’s gained more experience thanks to his Award

Taking part in his Silver Award has encouraged Ethan, 17, to get involved with new things and become a voice for others at his college.

Ethan is still working towards his Silver, but as part of his programme, he’s become a member of his student parliaments at Suffolk New College for his Volunteering section.

As a break from his studies for his Uniformed Public Services course, he’s also improving at painting Warhammer miniatures for his Skills sections, trying out new techniques as he progresses.

Ethan said: “DofE has been a fun experience for me and although I’m not completely finished, I’ve had some great experiences. For example, during my volunteering, I have worked as a student parliament member. This has opened up many opportunities and allowed me to network and create a student voice in my college.”

“I’ve done other exciting volunteering experiences, such as playing a casualty in a multi-agency exercise with the police, fire, and ambulance services. This was a really fun day and was a great insight into how our uniformed public services work!”

“DofE is also a great way to learn new skills, like learning to paint Warhammer miniatures. These are small models that you have to build and then paint. You can then use these to play the game Warhammer 40k or Warhammer Age of Sigmar.”

“For DofE, however, I’ve been painting the faction of Tyranids. This is great fun, and I have now made it my hobby. During the time I have been doing DofE, I have painted over 50 models and have been attempting to hone my skill and create better and more detailed models.”

“DofE has, and still is providing many good opportunities for me and I’m sure I’m not the only person that feels this way. I have learnt and have become a more experienced person thanks to DofE.”