DUKE OF EDINBURGH

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'I believe in myself. DofE has made me develop the attitude of not giving up, setting a goal and working to achieve it’.

Latest Updates

Information Sessions February-April 2025

To help parents and students understand what lies ahead in their Duke of Edinburgh adventures, a series of sessions are being run by the DofE themselves to help explain what the DofE Award is, what is involved and how you can support your young person with their DofE journey.

SESSION DATES AND TIMES

These will run on the following dates and times:

Thursday 6 February, 5pm
Tuesday 11 February, 5.30pm
Thursday 27 February, 6pm
Wednesday 5 March, 12.30pm
Wednesday 12 March, 5.30pm
Tuesday 18 March, 5pm
Thursday 27 March, 12.30pm
Wednesday 2 April, 6pm

You can drop in to as many sessions as you like by clicking on this link to join the meeting. You can join as many meetings as you like.

Key Dates

Bronze Dates

Tuesday 25th February 2025

P1 – Intro to Expedition
18:30-20:00 – Parents meeting

Friday 14th March 2025

P1 – Training

Friday 28th March 2025

P1 – Training

Thursday 3rd April 2025

14:00-18:00 - Practice Walk

Friday 25th April 2025

15:00-20:00 - Camp Out

Friday 16th – Saturday 17th May 2025

All Day – Practice Expedition

Friday 20th – Saturday 21st June 2025

All Day – Qualifying Expedition

silver dates

Thursday 5th - Saturday 7th June 2025

All Day – Practice Expedition

Thursday 3rd July - Saturday 5th July 2025

All Day Qualifying Expedition

Pre-Assembly Webinars for Parents and Carers

Before the assembly, parents and carers are encouraged to attend the DofE information sessions via webinars provided on the DofE website. These sessions are designed to help parents and carers understand how to best support students as they participate in the program. You can find more details and access the webinars here.

CONTACT

Duke Edinburgh Manager - Mrs Crumpton: dofe@theacademy.me

About

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a voluntary, non-competitive programme giving young people the opportunity to experience new activities and develop existing skills. The Award is widely recognised within the education system and by future prospective employers. Its balanced programme of activities support the individual’s personal and social development and encourages them to take part in exciting, challenging and enjoyable things in their free time. Some of the benefits to students undertaking the Award are:

A sense of identity; increased self-belief and self-confidence
Enjoyment and building positive team focussed relationships
New skills, talents and abilities
Exciting opportunities
A sense of achievement; the DofE Award is achievable by all
Independence; planning, problem solving, leading

‘It made me happy trying a lot of new things and making other people happy, especially with my volunteering section’.

Structure of the Bronze Award

There are three levels to the DofE Award (Bronze, Silver and Gold). Students in Year 9 who have chosen to participate this year will complete the Bronze Award for which there are 4 sections:

Section	Requirements
Volunteering – undertaking service to individuals or the community	3 months, 1 hour per week minimum*
Physical – improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities	3 months, 1 hour per week minimum*
Skills – developing practical and social skills and personal interests	3 months, 1 hour per week minimum*
Expedition – planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey	Practice: 1 day/1 night Qualifying: 2 days/1 night

*Students will also have to complete an additional 3 months in one of these sections.

Students will be responsible for planning their own programme of activities which can include attending enrichment activities and/or after-school clubs or groups, both within the Academy or elsewhere. There will be support provided by staff within the Academy to mentor, advise and guide students through the programme. The fourth section, the expedition, will be arranged by fully qualified members of staff and appropriate training will be provided.

‘Doing the DofE has helped me in my interviews for further education, the college that I applied for were really impressed with my achievements’.

Student Testimonials

Quotes from students who have completed their Bronze DofE Award: