The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) has become part of our culture at The Abbey.

We’re one of the leading examples of the DofE Award in the country, both in terms of number of participants and award completions. The scheme is the most sought-after non-academic qualification in the UK by universities and employers, equipping young people with a range of skills and character attributes which go beyond the curriculum.

DofE encourages you to do activities that you wouldn’t normally do inside school or might have access to in school. Also it helps you find new activities to take up.

Elise

What does the award involve?

The DofE Award seeks to inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievements. To achieve an award, students take on activities under five categories: Volunteering, Skill, Physical, Expedition and Residential. Students need to show motivation, organisation, commitment, a willingness to try new things, meet new people and overcome challenges. It is no surprise that to complete a DofE Award is seen as such a worthwhile achievement, and such is the recognition of achieving the Gold Award, that presentations are made by the Earl of Wessex in a ceremony at St James’ Palace or Buckingham Palace.

The expedition section, which often provides memorable moments and tall tales of adventure from the participants, dovetails into The Abbey’s wider Outdoor Education programme. The Silver Award programme involves a UK walking expedition; the Gold Award programme comprises a UK walking expedition, canoeing, and occasionally, an overseas expedition. Examples of past expedition locations include The New Forest, River Severn, Snowdonia, Morocco and Ecuador.

It gives you massive personal satisfaction to complete all areas of DofE, knowing that you have the strength, determination and resilience to keep going through any difficult situations whilst still having fun.

Alex

Programmes

The Abbey is a Directly Licensed Centre, meaning that we have the expertise to license our own programme of activities under the DofE Award heading. We provide opportunities to enrol on the Silver and Gold levels of the programme. Usually over 90% of Upper V enrol on Silver and approximately 50% of Lower VI enrol on Gold. The timescales of the Silver and Gold levels are as follows:

Silver

Volunteering

Physical

Skills

Expedition

6 months

One section for 6 months and the other section for 3 months.

Plan, train for and complete a 3 day, 2 night expedition.

Direct entrants must undertake a further six months in the Volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections.

Gold

Volunteering

Physical

Skills

Expediton

Residential

12 months

One section for 12 months and the other section for 6 months.

Plan, train for and complete a 4 day, 3 night expedition.

Undertake a shared activity in a residential setting away from home for 5 days and 4 nights.

Direct entrants must undertake a further 6 months in either the volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections.

Student thoughts...

Alex: DofE allows teenagers to experience exciting and unusual opportunities, that help develop their confidence, abilities and worldly experiences.

Elise: DofE encourages you to do activities that you wouldn’t normally do inside school or might have access to in school. Also it helps you find new activities to take up.

Alex: My residential trip was an opportunity to focus on a topic I don’t have any knowledge about; focusing on History meant that I learnt new and interesting information in a different environment. I learnt the importance of teamwork and resilience from all areas of my DofE.

Elise: I would have never considered taking part in the Young Enterprise Programme. From this I learnt the complexities of running a business and the processes behind it.

Alex: DofE did not impact my academic study, it fitted well with my weekly routines without reducing my free time.

Elise: I found I was already doing some activities so it was easy to fit any extra things into my schedule.

Alex: The expedition, including all preparation, was so much fun, and a massive learning experience.

Elise: My favourite experience was the gold canoeing expedition. One of the funniest moments was slipping down a muddy bank trying to get back into the boat and capsizing on the rapids.

Alex: I ended up not including DofE in my personal statement as I had other details that were more applicable to my specific degree, however I still logged it as an achievement and for others it was a relevant and core part of their statement.

Elise: It helped enhance my personal statement including skills I had gained from the activities I’d completed.

Alex: It gives you massive personal satisfaction to complete all areas of DofE, knowing that you have the strength, determination and resilience to keep going through any difficult situations whilst still having fun.

Elise: It’s not as tough as it might seem and a lot more activities count towards it than you may think. It’s enjoyable and worthwhile completing.

Welcome from Director of Outdoor Education – Richard Godfrey