The Duke of Edinburgh Award
The Duke of Edinburgh Award is the world’s leading youth engagement award. You can take part in volunteering, physical and skilled activities as well as an expedition that will transform your life. The award can be done alongside your study programme with just a small amount of weekly input and big rewards.
In a recent survey of universities and employers, the Duke of Edinburgh Award ranked highest in a list of extracurricular activities that they would like to see on someone’s personal statement or C.V.!
What you need to know
If we’ve convinced you to apply for the DofE, or if you’re part way through the programme and just want a bit of guidance, read through this handy information on what’s involved in a DofE programme: award levels, sections, timings, costs and more.
A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers. The DofE is many things to many people, and it will support you to successfully navigate adult life.
If you’re 14-24, you can do a DofE programme at one of three progressive levels. When the levels are successfully completed, they lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE award.
There are four sections to complete at Bronze and Silver level, and five at Gold. They involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition and, for Gold only, working with a team on a residential activity.
Any young person can do a DofE – regardless of your ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries.
You’ll have fun, make friends, improve your self-esteem and build confidence. You’ll also gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and uni and job applications.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a registered charity, funded by donations, Participation Places and licences.
For the hundreds of thousands of young people who take part each year, the benefits of achieving a DofE Award at any level are endless. DofE is about helping you along the path to a productive and prosperous future. As many of our participants say, it’s life changing.
Achieving an award will give you skills, confidence and an edge over others when you apply for college, university or a job. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of ‘soft skills’ that you have developed through extracurricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Your DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.
You’ll also make a difference to other people’s lives and your community, make new friends and have memories to last you a lifetime.
We are committed to keeping your DofE costs down so the current welcome pack, which includes the participation fee, is £22 for the Bronze Award, £22 for Silver and £29 for Gold. There may be additional costs for activities, but we’ll tell you about any additional costs and what they cover before you sign up.