Get involved in Duke of Edinburgh (2024)

FAQs

How do you get involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award? ›

When your child does their DofE programme they'll develop the skills and attitudes they need to become more rounded, confident adults. Qualities that colleges, universities and employers are attracted to. So when you support your child's pursuit of their Duke of Edinburgh's Award, you're investing in their future.

Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of “soft skills” that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Your DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.

There may be additional costs for activities and Licensed Organisations that run the DofE, such as schools, may add a small fee to cover administration costs etc. If a school, club or other operator charges you more than this, it is because they include additional costs to them, such as transport or expedition etc.

DofE Expedition Programme Costs

The cost of expedition programmes depends on many variables, and usually ranges between £50 and £65 per participant per day.

During your Duke of Edinburgh Award, you will develop numerous soft skills as you overcome various challenges throughout your DofE Award. Soft skills are known as employability or transferrable skills that are non-academic and non-technical, these show employers a well-rounded image of you.

In the Oxbridge process, music, sport, drama and DofE are entirely irrelevant unless central to your subject – only skill sets relating to that listed in each individual subject criteria that will have any bearing on the application.

Equipment failure or misuse must be avoided. Burn injuries and fire risk through use of cooking stoves. Hypothermia / exposure conditions, heat and cold disorders, dehydration, adverse weather and poor visibility. Insufficient pupil competence or supervision.

each activity needs to be undertaken for 1 hour per week

For Gold, you'll need to do your programme for at least 12 months if you've achieved your Silver Award, or 18 months if you've started at Gold level without doing your Silver – even if you've done Bronze.

A DofE Award is not just a prestigious Award much desired by colleges, universities, and employers. It's recognition of the huge effort you've put in to doing it, the people you've helped and the skills you've learnt along the way.

How hard is DofE? ›

“The DofE in general is important because unlike academic qualifications, it's a level playing field for our pupils – they work just as hard as pupils in a mainstream school to get their Awards. And the expedition itself is probably both the hardest but most exciting part for our pupils.

Although Duke is not a part of the Ivy League, it still ranks among the top universities in the United States, and consistently places high in national and global rankings. Duke is known for its rigorous academics, competitive sports programs (particularly basketball), and beautiful campus.

Doing DofE Bronze and Silver will not mean much for university applications unless it's Gold. Doing Gold would have more benefit in US than UK universities. The benefit of doing any DofE is that it teaches you a lot of skills and gives you a unique experience that you will remember forever.

There are three progressive levels of the award: Bronze, Silver and Gold. For each level you need to undertake challenges in the following areas: Volunteering, Physical, Skills and going on an Expedition. For the Gold level you will also need to take part in a Residential event.

Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and university and job applications.

Any young person can do their DofE. Achieving an Award isn't a competition or about being first. It's all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries. Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence.

To become a DofE Young Leader you must be nominated by your centre and have completed at least one section of your DofE Award.