Visiting Prisons Part 2 – The ‘Duke of Bronzefield’ Awards – Outdoor Adventure Behind Closed Doors!

Following on from my visits to HMP Coldingley, Send and Downview, I was keen to visit HMP Bronzefield, Europe’s largest women’s prison. HMP/YOI Bronzefield is a privately-run Category A closed prison, which looks after approximately 500 adult women and young offenders on remand or under sentence.

I was invited to join HMP Bronzefield’s Achievement Event – a warm and very lively morning celebrating the various milestones achieved by around 150 of the women over the past few months. There were certificates for completing different levels (up to GCSEs) of English and Maths – many of the women initially had little or no understanding of English and/or a self-proclaimed hatred of maths – as well as certificates for having achieved qualifications in gardening, beauty & hairdressing, IT, barista skills, catering and counselling.

A number of women were congratulated on having learnt new craft and entrepreneurial skills through JailBirds, the prison’s in-house creative products initiative. It combines textile production, fine art, crochet, and jewellery-making to produce handmade products. Originally, the products were made to support Barnardo’s charity; over time, however, the initiative evolved into a stand-alone social enterprise.

Other women had gained a mechanics qualification through a cycle repair workshop which echoes similar schemes seen at other prisons, where residents refurbish donated bikes and work towards recognised qualifications — skills with genuine currency once the women return to life outside the gates.

The awards I was most intrigued by were the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, given the seeming impossibility of outdoor adventure being achieved behind prison gates. Nevertheless, young women at HMP Bronzefield aged 14-24 are given the chance to learn new skills, motivation and perseverance through taking part in a DofE programme. Founded by Prince Philip in 1956, the DofE programme is recognised as the world’s leading youth achievement award and its reach now extends inside prison walls. The marginally adapted programme gives participants a widely respected qualification that can help them reintegrate and fulfil their potential on release.

Over the last year, six women achieved their Bronze or Silver DofE Award at the prison. They learned new skills such as tapestry, sewing and embroidery; they took part in Parkrun and trained in the gym using Hyrox equipment; they contributed 143 hours of volunteering by teaching their peers to read and play chess and even camped inside the prison walls. The DofE programme has proved so beneficial that women older than 25 are now given the chance to participate in an equivalent “Duke of Bronzefield Awards” programme!

The Achievement Event was opened and closed by three musical performances – two soulful gospels sung by a very talented lady and a fun rendition by a group of inmates who are currently rehearsing for the Pimlico Opera performance of ‘Guys & Dolls‘ at HMP Bronzefield.

It was an uplifting morning, despite many of the women facing numerous challenges. I very much hope that a combination of structure, learning new skills, encouragement and a little celebration can bolster the women’s confidence in trying to turn their lives around and overcome the inevitable difficulties they will face in the future.