To think D of E is a massive swindle

[DofEswindle]

Namechanged in case DD sees this!

She's doing Duke of Edinburgh Bronze with the school for the bargain (hah!) price of £250. I thought everything would be included for that money but we've now been told they need to get a rucksack liner ("no bin bags!") and fancy Wayfarer meal sachets ("no pot noodles!") as well as being told we can hire sleeping mats, sleeping bags etc. if we don't have them.

It just feels like a massive cash-in by the company organising it and Go Outdoors etc to make as much money as they can from gullible parents (me). I assumed the kids would meal plan together and work out what supplies to bring but they've all been told to get special sachets of ready meals at £4.50 each ("no pot noodles" but they are basically posh pot noodles).

Surely D of E should be about teamwork and loving the outdoors not sending your mum to spend a fortune in a camping shop? We're not on benefits so couldn't claim any help from school but £250 is an awful lot of money to spend a night in a field.

In the school I'm in we have kept our Bronze cost to around £100 we have an extremely dedicated teacher who runs it internally and we don't buy anything in, if they left it wouldn't be the case as no one else is willing to help. Other staff members volunteer to help out of their own time with the expedition, our Head wanted this to keep it accessible to all.

Different school and I've just had DD2s letter for Bronze. £400 I'm struggling to justify this cost even with buying in staff to run it.

It is seeming to discriminate against people when the whole point and purpose of the award is to challenge people to better themselves and get out into the countryside, not be forced to spend money!

Absolutely!

Surely D of E should be about teamwork and loving the outdoors not sending your mum to spend a fortune in a camping shop?

It is. Your issue isn’t with the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, it’s surely with the school and whatever money grabbing company they’ve decided to team up with. The scheme itself doesn’t require any of those things. You do need camping/hiking gear etc obviously but you absolutely do not need to buy ridiculous packet Wayfayrer meals. Certainly my DDs and their cohort didn’t. I’d tell them to do one. Does anyone really think this was what the late Duke of Edinburgh had in mind when he conceived this scheme? In fact I’d go as far as to say it completely goes against the principles. Surely planning, preparing and cooking food together as a team is an important part of the experience? Not heating up a sachet. I guess people will monetise anything.

Typical pot noodle is about 400 calories. One of the DofE expedition conditions, for good reason, is that participants cook a substantial meal each day. One pot noodle does not make a substantial meal.

Some of the money is used to pay for the station they camp at overnight. If they have a Go Outdoors leader they will have a fee for the weekend. I bought a sleeping bag, large light backpack, mat to sleep on, light cooking pan and all other personal equipment eg compass for my eldest child DD then other 2 children used the same equipment and I let my niece borrow it too. My Foster child used it after that so I did get money's worth out of it. My DC all did Silver too so the equipment really was well used. The only thing they had new was a whistle each. Mine all had to actually cook though so took a carton of passata and dry pasta. A couple of salt sachets from a cafe and a pinch of dried herbs in a bit of foil. I can't remember how much I paid for my 3 children as years ago but Foster son had his paid for by SS. Buy a packet of Compreed blister plasters.

I did mine via guides/rangers. The expedition bit was left to us to organise. I’m staggered by how much support is given nowadays.

You don’t need to do via School. I know you can do via girlguiding in my area and as far as I know there’s no charge (mine didn’t want to do it)

We sent our with pot noodles because they are very light weight.

NCS is a good and cheaper (I think?) option. One week of camping and outdoor activities, one week staying in a dorm, and 2 weeks of doing volunteering and team activities. I did it 4 years ago and we got to stay in a 5 star hotel instead of a dorm. We also did first aid training with a certification and team competitions. Absolutely loved it and made so many good friends. Although I also know a lot of people have done both DofE and NCS.

We use rubble bags as ruck sack liners. Ask your friends to borrow or buy their equipment. Remember some people did it last year and have the supplies.

This is the sort of stuff they ate, and flapjack lots of flapjack

I suggest writing to your MP asking why the government has so defunded schools and LEAs that what we once took for granted has now become so expensive.

That's the school's doing not the charity's.

Walking across uneven terrain for 4+ hours per day carrying 10kg+ (probably a lot more if crap at packing) on a pot noodle would be daft, at best.

At gold level, when it's 8+ hours per day for 4 days in wild country, it would be bloody negligent of them not to tell you about proper nutrition.

@FiddleMinger - in that case I’d say you have a ‘DC problem’ not a DofE one - not completing the award because they’re ‘not feeling it’ when you have paid money to give them the opportunity is (more than a little) a little pathetic. Sorry.

Yes I think the money is mainly for outside trainers/assessors. We have to drive them to and from the walk.

Flapjack is a good shout!

Not heard of NCS - what does it stand for?

If you want your kids to do it for free, get them to join Cadets. CCF, Air Cadets etc. All of them seem to do it

However, a friend of mine is an admissions tutor at Durham. He doesn’t care if an applicant has done D of E. So, not sure if it makes any difference to uni. It does make a difference to the kids themselves though

Have checked email and cost via girlguiding in our area is £25 registration fee. Email says they kept costs to a minimum and it’s organised by volunteers plus equipment loan.

I feel your pain. Mine did the bronze, no issue. School suggested continuing to do Silver, which again he did. However, the volunteering part was never signed off. Everything is online now so I didn’t get to see it. School then suggested doing Gold - of course they did, as even more expensive. They did the expedition part, a couple of days on Dartmoor but then decided not to finish it. Due to silver volunteering never being signed off, it looks like he only finished bronze. What an absolute waste of money.

And just to say, my kids aren’t perfect either but if you let them not bother it’ll only get worse!!

Those meal pouches are foul. DS tried one in advance of his scouts expedition and couldn't eat it. Horribly dehydrating too I bet, I find anything that needs making up with water leaves me really thirsty.

@Anewuser You don't have to complete silver to do gold, but do have to spend longer if doing gold as a "direct entrant". Also have until 25th birthday to complete, if so motivated.

What a shame that something that should be a level playing field for kids has turned into a cash cow.

National Citizen Service - not bad but not the same as D of E.

https://wearencs.com/

Mine did NCS after yr11. Was cheap £100 ish. They went on activity holiday week 1 and did activities at a local university week 2.

I don’t get the point of the hiking/camping part of it (I admit I know little about the whole scheme). If you want to do hiking/camping then join the Scouts or Guides.
I also see DofE volunteers in charity shops or libraries etc and they always look like little lost sheep who have no clue what they are doing.
What exactly is the point of DofE ?