Duke of Edinburgh's Award

content

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is the world’s leading achievement award for young people and gives participants the chance to develop skills for life and work, fulfil their potential and have a brighter future.

Taking part in the DofE builds confidence, resilience, and skills.  It gives you the added benefit of gaining a competitive edge as employers regard a DofE Award highly, so it will help open the right doors for you.

content
content

The DofE is open to anyone aged between 14 and 24 and must be completed by the participant’s 25th birthday.

There are 3 levels of the Award; Bronze, Silver and Gold.  Bronze and Silver Awards have 4 sections that participants must complete and there is an additional 5th section at the Gold Award level.

  • Volunteering – undertaking service to individuals or the community
  • Physical – improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities
  • Skills – developing practical and social skills and personal interests
  • Expedition – planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey
  • Residentialat Gold Award level only and involves working and staying away from home doing a shared activity with a group of unfamiliar people

The main differences between the levels are the minimum length of time they take to complete and how challenging they are.

 Bronze. Volunteering 3 months. Physical 3 months. Skills 3 months. Expedition 2 days, 1 night. Plus a further 3 months in the Volunteering, Physical or Skills sectors.Silver. Volunteering 6 months. One of Physical or Skills for 3 months, the other for 6. Expedition 3 days, 2 nights. Direct Entrants must do a further 6 months in the volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections.Gold. Volunteering 12 months. One of Physical or Skills for 6 months, the other for 12. Expedition 4 days, 3 nights. Direct Entrants must do a further 6 months in the volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections. Residential 5 days, 4 nights.

The DofE takes you to a place where you’ll push yourself and have amazing new experiences. Contact studentengagement@uhi.ac.uk if you’re ready for a new challenge or to pick up where you left off if you’ve previously started an Award.

More information about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is available on the DofE website.