Duke of Edinburgh's award scheme

[GypsyMoth]

i know nothing....anybody got experience of this?

DD wants to do it...cost? commitments? how much will i be involved?

It depends if they are paying the teachers/Award leaders to supervise in any way, I suppose? (I've only ever supervised/trained groups voluntarily with Guides/Scouts).

Look for a local group to avoid cost!

I done my Bronze when I was fourteen and would do my silver and/or gold if I could stay in one place long enough!

It's brilliant, a real good experience if you do it properly (i.e. trying new things) but you have to plan it carefully because from what I remember, to do gold you need to be at a basic coaching level in your sport? Don't know if that's changed but I'd suggest a new sport for Bronze and Silver and a well-liked sport that person is good at for Gold as otherwise you'd have to start over.

If walking isn't enjoyed then you can look at other kinds of expeditions as well (I won't be able to do my silver let alone bronze by hiking so will do it kayaking or canoeing when I get around to it!)

Money-wise, it depends on what you want to spend. Maybe because I'm in a low-income area but my local one seems to do everything on the extreme cheap or free. You also don't need the equipment that they may try push on you and if you're interested in the DofE you've got to be interested enough in a sport to be able to have that equipment already, and the hiking you can buy most on ebay should you need too or just get a decent pair of boots. I done my bronze in trainers and my sister did her silver in them too!

hmm let's see:

£11.50 enrollment
£5 compass
£5 map (maybe x2)
£5 x 2 one night campsite fee per expedition
£10 x 2 transport to/from expedition area per expedition

That's about £50 without trying too hard. If they are providing equipment there could well be a charge for wear & tear and gas used etc. £100 seems a bit steep, but not outrageously so.

The school may be using an expedition provider instead of running the expeditions themselves. That would certainly push up costs.

I disagree with NVM... my son's DofE cost nothing more than we'd normally pay to support him in activities.. He volunteered at Beavers (free), learned tennis in an after school club (free), looked after our chickens (free) and did an expedition with Scouts (£30). That was for Bronze and he had a great time and made some great friends. For Silver he'll help at Cubs (free), plan and build a carnival float (free), join a hockey team at school (free) and another Scout-run expedition (£30 or so). Hiking kit is provided, except for boots and waterproofs which we already have. The only extra cost when he does Gold would be the 5-day residential but there are loads that are free for helpers (disabled kids on camp etc) or nominal cost. There are loads I've just found on the DofE website (www.DofE.org/go/opportunities). Cost of entry for an Award is under £20 (Bronze is £11.50) but some schools add a few pounds for admin. I'm a big fan, as kids add great value to their CV but, more importantly, come out as more independent young people at the end, and good citizens. I'd be happy to pay much more than I do for that result!!

It only costs £11.50 to enter for a Bronze DofE Award, that pays for a Record Book or electronic record book. Any other sums are just added by the school and they MUST tell you what the costs are for. Sometimes this includes the expedition - but you should ask!

Just wondering, can participants still only do the same sport/skill/volunteer base for only two of the awards? If not then I'd happily use kayaking for all three

Also, do you need to check in with providers often? If I could do my sports away from home then I'd be sorted?

PP - you always could do the same activity for each of the 3 Awards, and still can, although they recommend that you do different activities as the DofE is all about trying new things. You just need to keep a track of your activities each week and get your Assessor to check up on your progress from time to time when convenient and, of course, sign you off at the end. Enjoy!

Ooo, I didn't know that, my group never told us that you could use it for all three, cheeky sods

I'll see if she would mind doing it the check ups over the phone then as I'd love to get started on my silver and gold but can't stay in one place long enough to commit to volunteering (should've done that whilst I was nannying, I was volunteering for three different places at one point!) or the skill. Though I might use knitting as my skill for silver, used BSL for my bronze

Can you do the sectionals for gold before fully completing your silver? Obviously I'd start with completing the silver sectional awards before moving onto the gold but I wouldn't be able to complete the whole lot of silver for a good few years yet and I'm already 21!

Just been to the meeting and it looks like a good thing for dd. My other dd is do interested, but they said she could start at gold and work her way backwards??

Bit of confusion over ages and when they get certificates, as dd isn't 14 til July.

Expedition is in may and then June unaccompanied. Local outdoor centre hire out the tents for £2.50, boots £2 everything they need, and she can do a skill there too as it's only a mile away. It's Bakewell in peak district for expedition

thanks for the advice everyone, it was great to have all this info beforehand.

I think min ages are 14 for bronze; 15 silver and 16 gold, but for bronze there's a bit of leeway to start younger if there's a good reason (like being young in the year, and all peers starting earlier).

PP - you have to complete a level at Silver before you start that same level at Gold - so you couldn't do your Gold expedition practice if you hadn't done your Silver Qualifier, iyswim.

Other dd is 15, so she can start at silver now, just worried about gcse's tho. Alot to be doing.

They can do it pretty much as fast or as slow as they like. ie: all activities (skill,sport, volunteering) at the same time or one after each other and they can stop & take a break from activities in the middle too.
(so if doing something for 6 months do 4 months, stop for a while & then resume & do the remaining 2 months) ao it can all be fitted around GCSEs with planning.

The only limit is that they finish by age 25 I think.

I did my Bronze and Silver Duke of Ed awards a long time ago...

I'll have to check with my mum (who may tell a different story!) but I don't think it cost that much. I did my voluntary bits helping out at a vets, and working with disabled children for a local charity. For the physical activities I played hockey for the school team. I'm trying to remember what I did for my skill...

The expeditions though were fantastic. I don't think it cost much, as people parents had tents etc, so between us (4 to a tent) we had enough stuff, and I'm sure the school must have had some too. I'm sure I borrowed walking boots.

We did get spectacularly lost on Long Mynd in thick fog, sparking a full scale rescue, but that is another story...

I started mine at 13.5, as long as I was 14 before I finished my bronze they were happy for me to start!

Snorkie: that's right, I'm feeling the pressure as I'm nearly 21 and will be going into seasonal work for the next few years at least so will have minimal time to finish up bits later on!

sleeping lion: Thats good to know, thank you!

Sorry for taking over your thread OP!

Well it's all coming together nicely for dd!!

British legion womens section are giving us a grant to cover all expedition clothing and clothing in general for the whole first year ! Am very pleased! They have helped us a fair bit over the years due to our forces connection and DD dad.

So, where is best place for me to 'cost' what she'll need? Which store? And best type of walking boots?

I used to be a Silver Leader I wasn't a guide as a kid so I joined as an adult and the council trained me. I had a fab time until the paper work drowned me.
ThreeBlondeBoys Who is she going to go with? The group she joins will provided alot of the equipment (well Wandsworth Council did and DH's school does) So you shouldn't have to provide tents, cooking stove and maybe even rucksacks so ask before buying.
Just for costing maybe the Scouts website would be good as they also run walking trips.
If I find my old books I'll jump on here later. Apparently alot of Universities like to see DOE in an application. The girls and boys I took out all did very well in their exams. I think the break from pressure helped them. I think there in their late 20's now

The D. of E. award is a marvellous scheme. All my children have done various levels and have enjoyed it. I don?t remember how much it cost but it wasn?t much. The best thing to do is to try and find a well organised school/youth group/scout troop, this might not be easy.

The main point is that the children choose, learn a new skill and get involved themselves. It gives them self confidence and gets them out doing things they wouldn?t ordinarily do and mixing with others outside school.

The scheme could always use suitable Adult volunteers, please give it some consideration.

Starbear...... At last nights presentation they showed a survey done by Northampton uni showing it was 1st thing employers look for on cv, and it goes a long way with uni applications too.

Luckily we have a good well organised school and a great local outdoor centre which dd is using for her skill. She plans to do rockclimbing.

Also hoping she will be helping with British legion too. Although they are providing her clothing, she can the. Give back in return.

Glad it's going so well TBB.
Don't rush into buying stuff - see what you can borrow first. Also, DofE qualify for 10% off in some shops so wait for your discount card.

TBB, whereabouts are you based? When I did DofE and Guiding things many moons ago we always sought advice re: equipment from Peglers in Arundel. They are independent and experts as the staff are all keen outdoorsy people.

Walking boots-wise, for bronze it won't matter what you go for as long as your DD is used to walking in them.

A good waterproof jacket and boots are the most important thing - I would go to a good walking store and try on lots then actually buy them online -mandm sports are good but you'll find lots of other places too that will have them cheaper than specialist shops just by googling the name. Lots of good makes, go for whichever feel the most comfortable and have good soles and ankle support for the boots and something that is breathable for the coat. For other equipment I like Go Outdoors.

thanks penguin!!

i have 2 girls now to collect stuff for...going to be a bit expensive,thankfully,have a clothing sponsor

DD2 is taking up climbing on local outdoor centres climbing wall...so she will need things for that...they hire boots at £3 a session,so better to buy long term

dd1 has a good friend who is doing DofE with her and owns horses,so they are going the 'horsey' route! wil go and 'unhide' horse topic now for advice on basic riding gear!!