Home / 6th Form / PDP /

Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award Scheme

6th Form

A D of E programme is a real adventure from beginning to end. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from. You just need to be aged between 16 and 24 and realise there’s more to life than sitting on a sofa watching life pass you by. At Gold level you achieve an Award by completing a personal programme of activities in five sections over 18 months.

The five sections at Gold level are:
• Volunteering - helping someone, your community or the environment
• Physical - becoming fitter through sport, dance or fitness activities
• Skills - developing existing talents or trying something new
• Expedition - planning, training for and completing an adventurous journey
• Residential - staying and working away from home as part of a team

Once you hit 16 you can do your Gold DofE programme. You’ll spend 12 months on your Volunteering section. For Physical and Skills you must spend 12 months on one and six months on the other - you decide which way round you do it. The big difference at Gold is that you'll also do a Residential section - staying away from home for five days and four nights doing a shared activity with people you don't know. It's great fun and a real chance to do something different! If you’ve jumped straight into your Gold DofE programme you’ll need to do a further six months either volunteering or whichever one of your physical or skills activities you spent the most time on. Currently, 2 hours PDP on a Wednesday afternoon have been allocated for Expedition planning and training, and a commitment to this activity will be for the full 2 terms of timetabled PDP - from September to Easter

How much will it cost?
When you decide to do your DofE, you'll pay a small participation fee to the DofE Charity in order to get your participation place.  This is currently £17.25 for Gold. The biggest expense is the expedition, although we will keep costs to a minimum. Practice camps, training weekends and qualifying camps all result in a total cost to a participating individual of approximately £150. Individuals will also be responsible for individual equipment such as boots and water proofs; whilst groups will need to buy their own food. Other equipment may be borrowed from school, although we have limited quantities of some items like rucksacks and sleeping bags.

Why do all this?
Employers, colleges and universities really like the team building, confidence and problem solving skills that DofE participants gain through The Award. It is great evidence that you will turn up and stick at a task, as well as the community and environmental awareness that is acquired.

Students can explore the options on the official website (www.dofe.org)

Coordinator:   Mr D Sanderson
When: Wednesday afternoon
Where: To be confirmed
How Long: Two Terms (of PDP time, but ongoing over 18 months)