Duke of Edinburgh Award

At St Peter’s we are proud to offer Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.

We currently offer Bronze to Year 9 students, Silver to Year 10 students and Gold to Year 12 Students. We are a Direct Licensed Centre which is a type of organisation which holds a licence to deliver DofE programmes to the young people they work with, on their own premises. 

The DofE is all about going the extra mile – gaining new skills, pushing yourself physically, helping others and exploring new territories. At the same time, you’ll gather friendships experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.

What is it all about?

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a personalised award where young people design their own programme with support from our staff, which can be tailored to suit their personal circumstances, choices and local provision. The Duke of Edinburgh Award is balanced, progressive and enjoyable whilst being achievement focused demanding high levels of commitment. There are three levels of DofE programme which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award.

A DofE programme is a personal challenge to push your own boundaries and not a competition between others. It is also achievable by any young person who chooses to take up the challenge regardless of ability, gender, background or location.

Whilst we offer the programme at St Peter’s it is voluntary and young people choose to do this and commit some of their free time to undertake activities. There are four key elements a Physical section, Volunteering section, Skills section and an Expedition section. At Gold there is also a Residential section in addition to the expedition.

 

The DofE Lead at St Peter's School is Mrs Powell

For more details of the DofE award at St Peter’s please email apowell@stpetershuntingdon.org and take a look at the DofE website.www.dofe.org

 

 

Bronze

Silver

Gold

How Long Does It Take To Complete The Award?

The diagrams below show the timescales required for each section at each DofE award level.

You don’t need to complete one section before moving onto the next and can be working on your Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections concurrently.

What Activities Are Available?

There are a wide range of activities you can select for your Volunteering, Physical and Skills sections but if you are finding it hard to choose then have a look at the ideas on the link below or speak to your DofE Lead who can provide guidance.

Ideas for Activities - The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (dofe.org)

Activities don’t all have a cost associated and there are many activity options that are free. See if there is a sports club at school you would like to join which could count as your physical for example.

Just make sure when choosing your activities you are selecting something that interests you so you can see this through to completion and ensure your DofE Lead has approved the activity before you make a start.

If an activity is chosen outside of the schools provision it is the responsibility of parents/carers/guardians to ensure the activity is undertaken with a suitable provider, who will take responsibility for activity supervision and act as an assessor. The assessor for each section activity must be willing to provide a brief report confirming participation (averaging at least one hour a week) for the required timescale.

It is the responsibility of the participant’s parent/carer/guardian to evaluate the safeguarding and health & safety policies of organisations before engagement.

Department for Education guidance for parents/carers/guardians using after-school clubs, tuition and community activities can be found here.

What Does The Expedition Involve?

The expedition section is an adventurous journey of discovery, both in terms of the outdoor environment and personal team development. It is one of the few opportunities young people get to really separate and isolate themselves from their daily lives and modern mass media.

Teams have to show great initiative and truly rely on themselves. Often the expedition section creates lasting friendships.

Training will be provided in order to support participants in having a successful expedition. Sessions will include navigation, route planning, equipment, camping, safety, first aid and much more.

For  the Bronze Award the expedition is 2 days and 1 night, for Silver 3 days 2 nights and for Gold 4 days 3 nights. Gold participants will also take part in a 5 day and 4 night Residential.

How do I get involved?

When it is time for us to enrol new participants a letter with details on how to sign up will be sent out.

We will also promote this in school and on our social media platforms.

When can I get involved?

You can start Bronze Award in year 9, Silver Award in year 10 and Gold Award in year 12 (from age 16). 

 It is possible to go directly to Silver Award in year 10 if you did not complete the Bronze Award in year 9.

Why should I get involved?

How Much Does It Cost?

The school reviews the cost on a yearly basis and details of this will be provided prior to sign up.

The cost will be made up of the DofE registration fee and the cost for the school to run the expedition section.

Please do not let the cost be a barrier for your child taking part in the DofE though as there is financial assistance that can be made available if required.

Everyone who registers with the DofE  also receives a DofE Card which enables you to receive discounts on items you may require for your expedition and we also have some kit available within the school which we can hire out.