Duke of Edinburgh Bronze - worth it?

My daughter did it. What she learned was that some people are nasty, mean, and cruel. One of the worst experiences of her life.

I did bronze and silver. I would encourage my children to do it, but I would not push it if they did not want to. I think I gained a lot through it, but I wanted to do it. It definitely encourages stepping out of your comfort zone and it boosted my confidence.

My son is involved with mini duke. I will absolutely support him to carry on in the programme, but I do not see it as a magic ticket to uni or anything.

Thinking about it, having the Duke of Edinburgh award (not having the award per se, but having done the activities required) helped DS get a part time job in sixth form. Having work experience helped him then get an apprenticeship after sixth form. So I guess it did help his future prospects :)

(locally we've noticed private schools not that keen on DofE - they offer it but have worse take up than most of the state schools. Anecdotally this is because these students are already loaded up with activities and can't fit more in. Which I suspect has a grain of truth. Doing D of E can be a time eater.)

Loads did the full set at DDs school, it's really not that uncommon now - especially at private and grammars. The least interesting half sentence about teamwork at the end of her PS.

321, 622 people started a DofE award (all levels) in 21-22
Around 12000 completed their Gold

Very roughly, 3.5% of starters of the scheme complete it.
Even without factoring that the considerable majority of young people don't even start it, I think it is quite impressive to be one of those 3.5%

It's not that big a commitment at Bronze level, in my experience.
Two weekends of expeditions (practice, main)- one night each. Main issue was borrowing all the kit and buying boots.
Skill and physical was activities she was doing anyway (piano, boxing).
Volunteering is indeed a pita due to restrictions on what 14 yr olds can do. My DD went back to her primary school to rearrange the library, other options might be coaching a junior football team or raising money for charity. Not as onerous as in my day.
If he is doing these sorts of things already, I would encourage him to do the expeditions too as they can be good fun and teach teamwork. But as others say, it's not all about "prospects".

Does it add much value to their education/future prospects overall? Is it a prestigious thing to have in your repertoire or is it outdated and not much value anymore? I

It isn't for prestige.

It isn't about "adding value to their education".

Having a Bronze Award won't add to future prospects, no.

However doing the Bronze award (properly) may well improve future prospects as the DofE award is all about developing the the whole person.

That certainly isn't outdated and certainly is relevant.

If he's not bothered I would leave it for now. DS's school let them go straight on to the silver in year12. DS didn't get far due to COVID but he was doing equivalent 'stuff' anyway.

Having a gold DofE is still noteworthy and has wow factor.

Loads did the full set at DDs school, it's really not that uncommon now - especially at private and grammars. The least interesting half sentence about teamwork at the end of her PS.
But worth doing as an end in itself if they want to do it - takes a bit of determination to walk for several days wild camping in Scotland carrying a rucksack as big as you are!

DS1 did it through school. He quite enjoyed it but I'm sure it had no bearing on his uni acceptance, and actually said many of the expeditions he'd done through scouts were more challenging.

Even Gold won't help with university entrance!

If he's not fussed, I would channel his energies elsewhere tbh. Better he finds an outlet that he really enjoys.

Having a gold DofE is still noteworthy and has wow factor. But bronze level is so commonplace it has little impact on Uni admission's tutors or future employers....

It won't make any difference to their university applications if that's what you mean. Mine did it because they grew up in Enid Blyton land and love that sort of thing. If he doesn't want to do it, don't make him.

Like the other poster we still remember ours almost 30 years ago

We had a great time

If he's not keen, I wouldn't push it. It's a big commitment, and it offers a lot to students who are keen (not the award itself, but the things they do to get the award). Students who are doing it because they think they should often tend to drop out along the way.

He also doesn't have to do bronze to do silver or gold, later down the line, if he wishes.

And I think it’s great at doing all that, esp if they decide to carry in doing the silver and gold.

dc1 was able to develop his leadership skills (aka he loved telling people what to do lol) right from the start.

Both my dcs did it. Dc1 then carried on to do the gold DoE.

Both dcs loved the expedition side.
It is a commitment yes but I think they both learnt a lot from it and it opened some doors to other stuff later on.

Universities and good employers look favourably on it. Bad employers won't give a shit about it.
Not at bronze level. However if he is with a good crowd he should have a great time.
Theres lots of benefits to doing it but pushing your son to do it for future prospect is ridiculous.
I was a D of E leader for over 20 years, up to Covid and have not renewed my ticket, employers would pay attention to Gold but bronze awards are two a penny

My twin boys did it with their Explorers group. It was a lot of work, but I believe is was very worthwhile. We found it very useful when completing college and 6th form applications.

they didn’t go on to silver though, bronze was enough for them!

DD2 has done it through school. Her volunteering part has been through helping at the school farm and her skill has been done through her food tech lessons. Her expedition is next month.

DS struggled to find anywhere that would take on volunteers under the age of 16 because "health and safety ".

Two of mine have done bronze, silver and gold, they got a lot out of it but it definitely didn't help them get into uni.

no it isnt "prestigious" 😂That is not what it is for , and not why its done. It is done for personal development, overcoming challenges, achievement, hopefully some fun and bonding experiences too

I'd assumed mine would do it and they have a sport and a skill... but actually the volunteering takes a lot of time. They'll do the expedition with scouts/explorers anyway so we may miss it!