Duke of Edingburgh,how has it been useful for your child?

[maddiemostmerry]

Hi ds has done his Duke of Edingburgh bronze.

The cost of the expeditions for silver is going to be just over £300. This is a lot of money for us.

Has the award been of use to your child other than the skills learned?
Does it carry any real weight on personal statement for uni?

Thanks

To be fair they did have to walk between camp sites. And the conditions were very bad (snow) for the March-April one, so it was still fairly character building, but camp site camping is a poor substitute for camping in the wild imo. One night they 'camped' in a hostel/barn since the camping field was under water for example.

we spent an entire day in fog in the mountains, working our arses off to follow bearings so that we wouldn't end up over a cliff. our campsite was supposed to be a tiny mountain top tarn, but with the weather, we couldn't risk coming off our bearing to find the damn thing (and there was no guarantee we'd find it anyway, unless someone got their feet wet), so we made a team decision to walk an extra 5 miles to get down into the valley and camp beside the stream. it was a fucker of a day.

the d of e website is adamant that expense should be minimal. i would point this out to whichever clown designed the price tag. the whole idea is that it is accessible to anyone, not just those with disposable income.

Well in answer to the original question, I think the benefit of Silver is personal more than for UCAS or a later CV. However, I do think people who are fully aware of the scheme know that Gold is an achievement and afford it respect when it comes to applying for jobs. A relative is involved in with it with Scouts and he says it is (or should be) a considerable step up from Silver.

I think its value for UCAS depends on the institution and course and whatever else your child is involved in and has on their PS, rather than being assigned a definite value or set amount of UCAS points. For example, part of the reason my dd went on with Gold was that she felt she didn't do anything in sports teams and it would show she could take part in physical activities.

You can skip silver, but then the extra training for the walk can be useful (eg they begin to learn night navigation) and you get an idea whether you would be up for Gold.

If your son is interested, ask the local Scouts or Cadets as they will not charge that kind of money and are likely to have, or to be able to find equipment that you may borrow as that can add to the cost quite a bit at Gold level.

If you use the D of E website (or if not there, then google), I think you will find organisations/groups who help children whose schools do not offer it to find a group they may join.

Not relevant to DCs yet, but I did Bronze, skipped Silver and did Gold, and got masses out of Gold. I know it sounds a bit cheesy but I had a real sense of achievement from the expeditions and the charity work in particular (and the sport bit was stuff I would have been doing anyway, just needed to get my book signed). So your DS could skip Silver and go straight to Gold the next year?

I did Bronze, Silver and Hold back in the early 90s. No idea if it helped my uni application but I've been asked about the Gold at every interview (professional job) I've ever had. Would also be very encouraged to see it on someone else's CV.

Bit at the £300, though.

I have helped at school DofE expeditions and I can assure you we wild camped - in the Cairngorms - it was no picnic.

I think the issue for the OP is cost, which I can well understand, it should not be that expensive. At my children's school there are trained staff plus parents like me go along to make up the necessary numbers - especially as more girls than boys tend to do DofE, they always need female parent helpers.

At my children's school you can't go straight into Gold. It is oversubscribed, so priority is given to children that have completed their Bronze and Silver. This is due to the shortage of trained staff and a fair way to do it, I think. Far better than charging an arm and a leg for it!

Could you contact the school to discuss - have they thought about using parent volunteers in addition to trained helpers, or limiting number to those who have Bronze so there are enough trained staff?

I think DofE is great, it has got my lazy teenager of her backside and doing things that are active and/or socially useful.

No children that age yet, but I did it and it can't have hindered my getting into a good uni. Plus I got a husband out of the deal.

But the cost to us even at Gold Level was only the fuel to get to the Lake District plus kit/food that we bought ourselves. My brothers' cost more at Silver, but that's because they did it abroad. The Scouts did also offer a UK-based option, but they took the opportunity to go on the foreign camp instead.

We did it with the local council, which meant we didn't have to get involved with Scouts or Cadets. Shocked that the school is charging that much though!! The organisations which offer it (local and national ones) are all on the D of E website here

I did bronze and silver and my siblings did all three. I found it a great help at interviews, interviewers for first jobs were more keen to discuss my DofE than the three years i spent at my Saturday job. Personally i would encourage your kids to do them. You also learn so much doing them.

This takes me back. I never got my gold - started too late as school didn't do it so I started at uni. But I did do part, including the camping. I will never forget crawling up beside a waterfall to a hanging valley with a gale blowing down it, and spending an exhausted night passed out while the others slept badly due to worrying the tent was going to blow over the brink... definitely character building. That and interrailing alone a year or three later.

Campsites sound a bit tame compared with the Lake District in snow and wind.

If DS wants to do it (assuming there is such a thing when he's a teenager) then I will be behind him 100%.

My DS does ATC he's recently applied for work experience with a international company and it definitely swung it. I think its less common than D of E and as its a twice weekly a big commitment. It has a structured exam process and opportunities for "promotion." Its very disciplined; punctuality and care of uniform are strongly emphasised. It offers a huge variety of activities voluntary work team sports camps expeditions and of course flying. Any activities are very reasonable because I believe they are subsidised by the RAF.

Just worth mentioning: D of E isn't just the camping trip, but it means he will get recognition for his voluntry work, sport and music as well (so long as he puts effort in to improve them over the year).

Lol happy, hasn't he been doing d of e through the atc? They have great opportunities, and he can wear his d of e badge on his atc uniform as well.... (ex-CWO)

gelatinous Mon 06-Feb-12 20:39:15
Really TeamDamon? You do know that they don't even do the wild camping night any more - it is all in campsites.

Er - I'm a Gold DofE leader and I can assure you that 'they' do do wild camping - in fact on one of our expeditions last year, more than one of our groups didn't spend a single night in a campsite. That was a fragrant bus journey home

Sorry to step on your determination to prove that Gold DofE is no more demanding than popping down to the local Caravan and Camping Club site, though.

Thanks everyone. He does attend explorers and I think it would be better to look into doing it with them.

I think the problem may be that at his school D of E is very oversubscribed. There simply aren't enough staff to run it hence the outsourcing and cost.

I did all three. What did they teach me? Not giving up no matter how tough it gets and believe me my silver expedition got really tough with the campsite flooding in the night. I learnt several new skills and did things to benefit other people not myself.
What did I gain from them? I applied for vet school and in a world where everyone had the same straight As and work experience at interview I was asked about my Gold D of E it set me apart from the crowd and helped me get my place.
My Gold expedition was at Achnacarry in Scotland where Commandos train it was really wild we were informed that our assessors saw us, but we did not see them for 4 days. We didn't in fact see another human for the whole 4 days.

I work in the charity sector with young people who do their DofE & can tell you that it is invaluable to them. Obviously, the more problematic the young persons background, the more imense the sense of achievement. However, for all young people a Gold Award is something really special. It is 18 months of work on: volunteering, physical, skills, expedition & at gold level a residential too. It is so special that a member of the Royal Family recognises that achievement & it should always be mentioned on a UCAS form or CV.

mmm there is a list of DofE Open expeditions here which can be done by anybody:
www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/doing-your-dofe/opportunities/expedition/uk-expeditions/

Some of them are a bit less than you mention, there's one near the bottom that's £105, although I expect your cheapest option might be doing it through the Explorers.

You can also search for a specific area which might be a bit cheaper than the national providers.

I did Gold as an independent (having changed school after Bronze and Silver) and the Open expeditions were fine, good bonding exercise with new people!

About the costs, ask the school why. It probably is because they are having to pay an assessor and maybe someone for the training too - if so, any efforts that can be made to find volunteers to help would be worthwhile. Presumably the kids who've done bronze already have equipment, so it's not that.

DP helps with training and assessing for a school group. I'm a bit hazy on the detail but I know there's a higher standard for gold training and assessing and fewer people with the qualifications, so they often have to be paid. I'd thought people with a simpler qualification could lead bronze and silver but it is quite a commitment and they may be struggling.

I think it's very worthwhile, especially the commitment, teamwork and coping with adversity.

Right, you've already said this! So, maybe other groups is a good plan, or doing the expedition training for silver, then moving onto gold.

Another thought. Does the school encourage parents and former pupils to get involved and help with training? That's one of the nicest things about the group DP helps with. It creates a community of support, a number of people who've gone on to train so that they have plenty of leaders for bronze and silver training and a link to past participants, some of whom come on walks when home from university so are quite good role models, especially since the school isn't in the greatest area and the kids' aspirations can be quite low (though it's the more motivated ones who bother with DoE at all). Not necessraily something that would interest you directly but could it be suggested to the school?