The Moray Badge Platinum Jubilee (MBPJ) is a year-long project to help primary and secondary age pupils who have been affected by the Covid lockdown. It aims to encourage them to participate in and enjoy outdoor activities and to develop their own strengths rather than competing against others. We hope the project will benefit pupils and schools by having a positive impact on mental health and well-being as well as on learning in the classroom.

The MBPJ will celebrate HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and mark the enormous contribution of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in encouraging the development of young people. The original Moray Badge was started in 1937 by Kurt Hahn at Gordonstoun and Elgin Academy and was the forerunner of Outward Bound and then the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE). The MBPJ is separate from the DofE but allied in values; it can reach children who might otherwise not consider this kind of scheme and could encourage primary pupils to carry on through to DofE later.

The project will be open to all Moray Council primary and secondary schools in the lieutenancy areas of Banffshire and Moray and it fits with the support Moray Council is providing for pupils after Covid. We want to include provision for those with disabilities, those who are home educated and those supported through the Youth Work network too.

 

The MBPJ is led by the Lieutenancies of Banffshire and Moray and supported by Moray Council and Gordonstoun School, with advice and involvement provided by local schools, organisations and businesses. We hope to partner with many clubs, societies and volunteers in the community to offer opportunities; links with these could lead to some continuance after the year is over. We are appointing a Project Leader who will run the MBPJ, liaising with the local organisations which run outdoor activities and managing communication and funding.

 

The activities and experiences on offer will include walking, running, orienteering, climbing, swimming, water sports, bird watching, gardening and tree planting. We hope the project will also inspire some who think of themselves as less sporty or less interested in the outdoors to enjoy new experiences.

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Different levels of age-appropriate activities will earn points leading towards three Moray Badge awards: Platinum for S1- 6, Copper for P5 – 7 and Brass for P1- 4, tying in with the age ranges for the Curriculum of Excellence. It will be possible to earn points in school and out of school; many events at each level of achievement for each award will be free and we will be fundraising for donations to help subsidise others.

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The MBPJ will launch officially on Thursday 10th June to mark what would have been HRH The Duke of Edinburgh’s 100th birthday and we are pleased that the Lord Lieutenants had written to him in March to tell him about it. The project will start in early September to give schools time to settle in to the new academic year and will run through to June 2022 when Moray Badges will be awarded to pupils in one of the celebratory events marking HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

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Joanna Grant Peterkin DL
Chair, Moray Badge Platinum Jubilee
info@moraybadge.org.uk