In Year 7 our new boys arrive, wearing their maroon blazers with pride, ready to take action. But it seemed to us as if a piece of the jigsaw was missing. Many of those boys would ask if they could start their Duke of Edinburgh award. They cannot do this until Year 9, and the Pope John Paul II award, based around Catholic social teaching, does not happen until Sixth Form. It seemed that there was an incredible opportunity to channel the enthusiasm of Key Stage 3 pupils into serving their community, so to fill this void we have invented our own age-appropriate award programme, called Fortis Dux.
The award is entirely unique to St Cuthbert’s and its design and content reflect our mission of “Forming Great Men”. The award’s logo is based on an Eider duck or “Cuddy duck” as they are known in the North East. These ducks are closely linked with our patron saint, who is widely regarded as the world’s first nature conservationist, having passed laws protecting the ducks on the Farne Islands. Our strong ethos surrounding leadership is recognised in the Latin title “Fortis Dux”, translating to strong leader, with the Latin being chosen to reaffirm our Roman Catholic heritage, and also our Roman roots - the vallum ( a huge earthwork) of Hadrian’s Wall runs underneath the school’s yard (as written about by St Bede). The award’s mascot, Fortis- a giant rubber duck - attends all functions relating to the award as well as the annual reward excursion to The Holy Island of Lindisfarne for the pupils who have completed the programme. The Award has also featured in the international Catholic magazine, The Tablet in 2018.
The emphasis of Fortis Dux is entirely on the pupils. There are three levels of achievement; bronze, silver and gold. The two main sections of Fortis Dux are based upon what we consider to be the core principles of Catholic leadership and two of our 4C's - Compassion and Commitment (the other two being Competence and Conscience). The pupils are taught that strong leaders have the ability to care for and think of others before themselves and that strong leaders also show a real commitment to the tasks they are given and the activities they volunteer for. Following an introductory assembly, pupils are given their award booklets and must set about gaining signatures from staff. They earn these signatures for positive actions which they have taken around school.
The onus is wholly on the boys to complete the award, as we believe this approach not only suits our busy staff, but also promotes independence at a time when some pupils new to the school might be tempted to keep themselves to themselves. Ultimately it gives an opportunity for our boys to become confident communicators.
The Fortis Dux Award has already given over two thousand pupils from St Cuthbert’s a chance to embody the principles of Catholic leadership, and the impact of their work is being felt throughout the school community. St Cuthbert’s is alive with dynamic Catholics who are putting their faith into action.
