AIBU to despair about DofE cheating

[WhatTheHeckIsIt]

Someone I know very well is the teacher who leads the Duke of Edinburgh at a school. Their teen is going to Buckingham Palace to receive their gold award. There is no way on this planet the teen has completed any of the activities - it's a stitch up.

It's made me feel really sad.

a) I expected more of this person
b) I expected more of their child
c) how could you let your child accept an award amongst people who have worked really hard to achieve it
d) it devalues everyone else's award
e) it's just shit

Rant over - but there's nothing I can do is there?

My kids did it because they just wanted to do it. Especially the expeditions.

I'd be kicking up a stick as well if someone had told one group in front of others that they had or had not passed.
If someone assessing one of my groups had told a group they had failed especially in that manner then I would be kicking up a stink with DofE HQ. Since they are quite clear that it is not a question of passing or failling, but rather whether one has or has not fulfilled the 20 conditions.
Often times those conditions are not met due to a decision a member of staff has made not the students, as could well be the case in the example you describe.

No, the main point is to do a mad walk carrying loads of heavy stuff and live in the wilderness.

Well, according to my son anyway.

Who did all the requirements for DoE Gold but couldn't be arsed submitting it because it was about the experience not the paperwork or the 'big day out in London' for him.

No idea why op thinks it would be thrilling to cheat on something like that. It's a bit like when my kids swam a mile for their certificate. I'm pretty sure they put their feet down ... a fail ... but really, who give a toss? They swam a mile and possibly shouldn't have definitely passed. Who cares?

A very odd reason for doing something that does not attract UCAS tariff points and no UK university admissions team I have spoken with would decide to give someone a place on the basis of whether they had or had not done DofE.

What is it you think that is changing next year?

Another of my kids had to get a lift from the teacher on their expedition (not gold).
They still passed.
Vague but I don't think they had to re-do anything.
I'm also pretty confident they didn't have to bribe the instructor.

It's not the Royal Marines, they don't hold them to quite such a high standard

Iwasafool - Really I'm not picking at your GS, I'm saying what my experience of other teenagers/schools has been.

As an example to clarify, when I said give them equipment, I didn't mean provide. Providing equipment for groups to borrow is great, as you say cost should not be a barrier. What I meant by "give" is handing the kit out and telling a group this is what you need and this is how to pack it etc., which means the group does not actually plan and think for themselves. This removes a large part of the original intention of the awards.

Well they obviously hadn’t fulfilled the 20 conditions.
She also wasn’t kicking up a stink because one group was told in front of the others, she was kicking up a stink because her son failed.

Your Last paragraph.
No not the case.

I was told that personal statements are being stopped? To make it a more even playing field.

I voted YABU as I opened this thread thinking it was about Edward having an affair

Oh, i agree absolutely! Mine did silver but then didn't complete the volunteering bit (was during covid and nowhere was allowing teens to do bloody anything!). However they did quite enjoy the trek.

UCAS are conducting a consultation on reform of personal statements. At no point have they said and there is no intention to remove them.

Many universities value them and students ought to too, as it gives the student an opportunity to really explore why they want to study their chosen subject. If they can't do that, then perhaps they have not chosen the right subject.
A student who writes in their personal statement that they have completed DofE, I would suggest doesn't have much interesting to say.

The DoE Gold expedition is a solo expedition. Alone. No group.

My son is doing silver and is doing almost all of it at school. He helps younger years with homework club, he does gym after school, all the expedition stuff is being done at school. He stays late twice a week. He doesn't show off or chat about it at all, I don't think anyone I know would be aware he is doing it.

I don't know how much harder gold is though.

Glad I'm not the only one 😜

Gold Expeditions are solo. Not a group, no team.

Ah ok. I disagree about D of E not being worthy of mentioning in a personal statement though. These are 18 yo's we're talking about - many of them won't have that much life experience to put in a personal statement! It's definitely an achievement to have completed D of E, especially at gold level.

Not everyone has fantastic opportunities in life - many won't even have had the chance to do D of E, I don't think it's fair to scoff at it.

I don't know if this was true for your dc's but it wasn't for my dc's school. They just completed the gold trek last week and it was 100% done in a group. Not my dc's personally but their friends.

You've said this twice but the person I know who has now completed it was going to struggle because they needed to make up at least a 4 person group...

The Gold expedition is for teams. My son is doing it next year. He's worked hard at his gold - he has SEN so he's allowed a bit of leeway on some bits (I accompanied him on his residential for example, but he didn't know the others there)

I know a Scout leader who awarded their son the Chief Scout Gold Award at 11 years old. No way he did that in 6 months, during covid. As a Scout leader whose own kids have worked hard to get theirs that really pissed me off. I was worried people would think I'd done the same. I expect the kid has his Gold D of E now.

The only loser is the cheater at the end of the day. All those kids that work hard for these things know what they've achieved and know that they deserve their award.

1. There must be between four and seven participants in a team (eight for modes of travel which have tandem).

From the D of E website about expeditions.

Gold expeditions are done in a team of 4-7 (8 if using tandem transport like double kayaks).

Well people might get more engaged in your handwringing crusade about dishonesty if you... Made an honest effort to explain how you know that the teen couldn't have done the work at school?

Incidentally, I didn't get the Gold Award because I was on holiday during the expedition, and I didn't get around to attaching myself to another one.

But it wasn't hard work at all to complete the other parts. My skill and physical were both school based, and I volunteered in my favourite teacher's class giving one to one support to a lovely autistic boy. It was a doddle, all done within my regular schedule. Same for literally everyone else who did it at my school. Not something to moon over.

Oh and I notice that you minimise the incidents of dishonesty in your own youth, OP.

I'm afraid, if I'm to join in handwringing, I'm going to need an example or two.

(But I'm sure you had your reasons - so long as you allow that others have theirs too)

Yes I know, mine have done it,
But my example wasn't for gold.
Im aware OPs is

No it isn't.

Noone is mad enough to send a lone teen hiking in the mountains for days on end.