Excellent academics, rising sports stars and talented artists, our local schools are filled with young individuals who grab opportunities that come their way and truly excel. Brunton from Michaelhouse is certainly one of them.
Meet Brunton Bigalke, a Grade 11 student at Michaelhouse. He is an avid sportsman and outdoor enthusiast, with a special interest in hockey, hunting, fishing and waterskiing. He is also busy completing the Gold Level of The President’s Award.
What is The President’s Award? It’s a non-competitive programme of varying levels for enthusiastic teens and young adults, derived from the Duke of Edinburgh International Award. Each level – Bronze (minimum period of six months), Silver (minimum period of six months) and Gold (minimum period of 12 months) – involves completing criteria in various areas, including volunteer work, physical recreation, skills and an adventurous journey. When you achieve your goals in all categories, you receive a certificate signed by the South African President.
“The President’s Award wants to challenge young people to serve their communities, experience adventures and develop and learn outside the classroom,” says Brunton. “They aim to create a balanced programme of voluntary, self-development activities to help participants through the potentially difficult period of adolescence.”
On top of that, the award is recognised internationally for developing skills such as resilience, adaptability, creativity, problem-solving, communication and leadership, and it looks great on CVs and university applications!
Brunton embarked on his President’s Award journey to challenge himself to reach the final level. A lot of hard work and dedication goes into completing the Award, and he has put his all into realising his goal. For the Gold Level, he must spend 52 hours learning a skill. “I have chosen hunting proficiency for this category. During the Award, I attained my dedicated hunter and sports shooter licence. As my 52 hours of physical recreation, hockey has provided more than enough experience.”
On top of that, he must complete an ‘adventurous journey’ over four days and three nights. His school helped him out for this section, as part of the Michaelhouse Grade 10 curriculum includes a two-week trip where all the students complete an 80-kilometre farm walk, 120-kilometre cycle and 50-kilometre canoe on the Tugela River as well as summit Giant’s Castle in the Drakensberg.
The Gold Award also includes a ‘residential project’. “We are encouraged to broaden our experience through involvement with others in an unfamiliar setting and complete a shared activity together over five days. I completed this during the April holidays at a game reserve in Thabazimbi where I got involved in wildlife conservation.”
Brunton’s passions really shine through in the voluntary service section. He has decided to spend 52 hours refurbishing second-hand sports equipment to donate to underprivileged children. “For the last five or six years, I have been running my own business refurbishing sports equipment. I adapted this for my community service project by using some of the profits to fund new grips for cricket bats and hockey sticks and then donate them to schools and communities in need.” He will have large collection bins at the derby day between Hilton and Michaelhouse on 15 June and appeal to locals to donate their second-hand sports gear, from outgrown cricket bats and hockey sticks to tennis rackets, sports accessories and shoes.
“Currently, I am taking a group of boys at Michaelhouse every second week to run a training session with outreach schools and donate some equipment. Hopefully, we will be able to expand this to more schools on a more regular basis and continue the project after my President’s Award is complete.”
Receiving this prestigious award is no easy feat and requires extensive time management to fulfil the requirements of the Gold Level and stay on top of school work. “I have chosen my activities quite strategically. They complement my interests and strengths. It has been challenging to balance all the activities but I focus on what needs to be done and plan my time well,” Brunton says. Michaelhouse has also been supporting his journey, with a dedicated staff member who helps with the programme and oversees all aspects of his Award.
Brunton encourages all high school students to sign up for The President’s Award. “It broadens your perspectives and challenges you in a healthy and constructive way. It also teaches you simple but valuable skills such as record-keeping, time management and planning.”
With plans to continue his voluntary service project and play hockey (and perhaps eventually become a wildlife vet!), we can’t wait to see what other amazing accomplishments Brunton has yet to achieve.
Words by: Jordyn Trollip