Duke of Edinburgh Award
The concept of the DofE is simple – anyone aged between 14 and 24 can do a programme at one of three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
There are four sections at Bronze and Silver level and five at Gold. With assistance from DofE Leader, you will select and set objectives in each of the following areas:
Volunteering
Which involves undertaking service to individuals or the community. (NB: Volunteering must not be done for a business but can be undertaken for a charity or not-for-profit organisation.). Examples:
- Raising money for a cancer charity
- Being a football coach at the local youth club
- Helping at an after-school club for kids with cerebral palsy
- Running a recycling project in their local housing estate
- Being an active member of a youth council or forum.
Physical
Which involves improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities. Examples:
- Playing table tennis regularly at their youth club
- Taking part in after-school wheelchair basketball lessons
- Joining a local athletics club and competing for their area
- Improving their karate skills and gaining the next belt
- Taking weekly dance lessons at a local club.
Skills
Which involves developing practical and social skills and personal interests. Examples:
- Learning how to juggle
- Taking saxophone lessons and gaining a higher grade
- Compiling a book on the fashions of the last decade
- Learning about today’s digital lifestyle, creating a video and posting it online
- Being an active member of a Young Enterprise group at their college.
Expedition
Which involves planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey in the UK or abroad. Examples:
- By wheelchair, following a disused railway track noting the current use of previous railway buildings
- Recording the wildlife found on the Strangford Lough canoe trail
- By foot, planning a route in the Lake District to visit areas that inspired Wordsworth’s poems
- Planning an expedition on horseback in the countryside including identifying suitable farm campsites and bridleways
- Using the cycle system in the Netherlands to undertake a research project on the provision and quality of cycle paths compared to the UK.
At Gold level, participants must do an additional fifth Residential section.
Residential
Which involves staying and working away from home doing a shared activity. Examples:
- Assisting at a summer camp for Brownies
- Joining an ACF activity week with members of different detachments
- Improving their Spanish language skills on a course in Madrid
- Helping deaf or blind young people and adults to enjoy a holiday in France
- Joining a conservation holiday.
Useful Links
- Duke of Edinburgh Award - Official Website
- eDofE Participant Webpage
- Expedition & Training Dates 2023 - 2024