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Original poster

Duke of Edinburgh?

13 replies

Goingdriving · 17/06/2021 08:21

My school has sent out a letter inviting kids to take part in the DofE award scheme, bronze. The cost is 235 pounds over the year. Is it always this expensive?

OP posts:

Tatapie · 17/06/2021 08:23

Not always but it can be , it depends on the size of the organisation. Is your child in scouting? Much cheaper that way!

roobicoobi · 17/06/2021 08:23

Mine did theirs through the air cadets and it didn't cost a penny!

LIZS · 17/06/2021 08:25

The actual fee is less than £50 iirc but a package may included the cost of overnight trip and activities.

Willowtree999 · 17/06/2021 08:30

I haven't paid anything yet other than buying kit and my son finishes it in a couple of weeks. I think the initial letter said £120 though.

Hoopa · 17/06/2021 08:46

They might be outsourcing and using an outside provider which ups the cost. It is a great thing to do though, lots of fun and something for Personal Statement.

MrsElijahMikaelson1 · 17/06/2021 08:49

Everyone does it now, so the impact on your personal statement is minimal at best. Better to do something more meaningful for your degree or something you’re passionate about to make you stand out from the crowd. And yes, it’s pricey!

roobicoobi · 17/06/2021 09:03

DS dropped out of school last October; hadn't even done much as done a volunteer position, never did DOE, wasn't in any clubs, didn't do any sports etc and is going to uni in September. So I would echo the above about not placing too much focus on the addition of DOE to a personal statement.

roobicoobi · 17/06/2021 09:03

Just to clarify when I said 'mine did it through cadets' I was referring to my other DS!

mimbleandlittlemy · 17/06/2021 17:18

@Hoopa

They might be outsourcing and using an outside provider which ups the cost. It is a great thing to do though, lots of fun and something for Personal Statement.

The only time it's worth it for the Personal Statement is if your child has succeeded with Gold. Universities don't care about Bronze or Silver because so many people now do it, the currency is debased.

Hoopa · 17/06/2021 17:45

I disagree. The volunteering work done even for bronze award - in my DD’s case training as an assistant coach at a very highly reputed sports club- gives some personality to their statement. If you can afford to do it, go for it, they will have fun and it does show them in good light on a statement, just make sure they have a good broad range of extra curricular on there to showcase who they are.

Sootess · 17/06/2021 22:08

Agree with others. At this price the school will be outsourcing to a company that runs it and provides all the kit for the expeditions.

BackforGood · 17/06/2021 22:28

My 3 have all gone all way through to Gold, and I've never paid anything like that but it depends what you are being asked to pay for.
If it includes borrowing equipment to save buying it, and costs of the expedition, and transport to get there, and the food etc etc then it begins to look slightly less unreasonable that if that is some sort of fee being paid to a company.

I think it costs £23 to register with DofE Scheme to do the Bronze award.
Obviously volunteering , doesn't cost anything. The 'learning a skill' and the 'physical activity' are often things dc are doing anyway. If they aren't then I presume the school aren't going to start paying their football team subs or for their piano lessons out of that money ?
So I'd ask what they are using the money for.

Sunbelievable · 18/06/2021 08:26

I think you need to ask what it covers, if the letter doesn't tell you. It really does depend on that.

My DD's gold cost £150 for the expedition but it was very clear that this was to pay for Covid safe campsites/staff accommodation/petrol/minibuses etc.

She didn't mention it on her university personal statement at all, but she didn't do it for that (although I take issue with the opinion that "everyone does it" as only 17% of 14 year olds even start out with bronze!)

It's not for brownie points on a CV or personal statement, it's personal growth and giving something back that's positive to society. The volunteering section I think is the most important.

I'd love to see wider access, more teenagers participating, and more able to do so without a burden of cost. Surely the government could have invested in this rather than the nonsensical National Citizen Service which purports to do almost the same thing BUT contracted out to companies who make a huge amount of money for running it.

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