At our school, we recognise the importance of students working hard to reach their full potential, whether preparing for top universities or successful future careers. We also place great value on developing character traits that support long-term success. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) is a fantastic example of this, providing a rewarding challenge that builds aspiration, courage, teamwork, and resilience.

We offer the Bronze award to students in Year 9 and the Silver award to students in Year 12. As a whole, the DofE programme takes one year to complete.

What is the DofE Award Scheme?

The DofE Award is an internationally recognised programme for young people, designed to encourage independence, commitment, leadership, and teamwork through a personalised set of activities. Major employers consistently rate DofE as the most valued extracurricular award for potential applicants to achieve during their school years.

Any young person can take part in DofE, regardless of ability, gender, or background. Achieving an award is not a competition or about finishing first; it is entirely about setting personal goals and pushing individual boundaries.

Through the programme, students have fun, build lasting friendships, grow in confidence, and develop crucial life skills such as problem solving, communication, and drive, significantly enhancing future CVs, college, and university applications.

The Four DofE Award Sections

To complete the award, participants take part in four key sections:

• Skill: Learning or developing a skill for roughly one hour per week.

• Physical: Participating in a physical activity or sport once a week.

• Volunteering: Giving time to help others or support the local community once a week.

• Expedition: Completing a practice and final assessed outdoor hike with an overnight camp.

Volunteering, Skill, and Physical Sections

Each of these three sections requires roughly one hour of activity per week.

At Bronze level, two sections are completed over three months, while one section is extended over six months. At Silver level, two sections are completed over six months (including volunteering) and the remaining section over three months. These sections do not need to be completed at the same time.

Expedition Section

The expedition section requires participants to undertake a 2 day, 1 night expedition at Bronze level, or a 3 day, 2 night expedition at Silver level. Before the final qualifying assessment, students complete full training and a practice expedition to ensure they are fully prepared.

If you have any questions regarding the DofE award, please contact our DofE Lead, Miss O'Shea.