Is the Duke of Edinburgh award worth it

[Purple200]

My dd(14) has the opportunity to apply for DofE at school. She keeps being told it’ll look good on her CV etc.
She already volunteers twice a week, dances several times a week, plays an instrument and has vocal lessons. She is also a member of a youth club based on military themes and is working up to a sergeant promotion. Is having DofE on her CV as well really worth it?

No!
( That's just imo/ime)

No, not given your DD does so much already.

My DD1 did bronze and for her it was great as it pushed her out of her comfort zone, and got her volunteering at something.

People shouldn't do it for a CV. They should do it for personal growth and fun.

If she’s doing all those things already, then the only thing she’ll have to add for DOE is the expeditions. The rest will just require collecting a few signatures to show she does a sport, a skill and volunteers. If she likes the idea of the expeditions then it’s worth doing.

Not if that’s the only reason she wants to do it. If she wants to learn camping, hiking and working with other skills then it might be. But I can’t imagine employers would be anymore impressed with dofe bronze vs everything else she does. Sometimes a gold d of e stands out but that’s cause it’s fairly hard to complete and the youth club thing could stand out similarly.

*the opinion of someone who loves Duke of Ed and all it entails and someone who reviews cvs.

Does she want to do it? That's the main question. My DD is keen as she will get to go camping with her friends... shes actually done everything for it already and still 13 so it doesn't count yet (including the expedition as Scouts have a similar badge).

No.

It's good for teens who aren't doing much.

Can push them to get out and experience new things.

Not necessary for a teen who is already doing a lot,

No. The DofE activities are certainly worth it (volunteering etc) but the award in itself is a rather meaningless cliché these days! Your DD’s extra curriculars sound brilliant - no need to add DofE on top of them unless she’s absolutely desperate to do the expedition.

It sounds to me as thought she's really doing enough already. I agree with the pp though you said it's really just adding the expedition and she's already doing everything else. The expedition is hard though, so you need to think about whether she wants that extra work.

No, it's no longer anything special as so many kids do it these days. It doesn't stand out anymore. Doing other activities is just as good.

No, it's a fairly meaningless middle-class rite of passage, aimed at motivating the unmotivated and giving them a line on their CV, so they're not reduced to 'My hobbies are shopping and watching TV'. Your DD doesn't need to be artifically motivated.

I don’t think it is necessary to do for cv or UCAS but definitely a worthwhile experience particularly doing the expeditions which are character building. My dc both went as far as gold. It is a chance for them to spend time seeing the most beautiful scenery in the uk, surviving in adverse weather conditions, having to get on with people and work as a team. It is also really exciting when they go to Buckingham Palace to celebrate the gold award and can take a parent with them. In the mobile phone age it is good for them to have a few days without access to phones on the expeditions in my opinion. I also think doing the sport encouraged my dd to stick at a sport for longer than she might have done. They also get good experience from volunteering over a prolonged period. Whilst my ds did not do the awards for his cv, having the silver award certainly helped open the door to his first paid casual job.

It was good for me because it got me into hiking and camping, which lead to the career I have now. My parents were definitely indoor city people! I don't think it added anything to my cv though, and it sounds like your DD has all of the bits covered. She'd possibly find the expeditions with inexperienced kids like me incredibly frustrating if she's got military training! Team work, organisation, planning, sleeping bags and mud weren't part of my previous life experience...

it is not true that everyone does D of E and certainly not as far as gold. A tiny fraction of the population attain all three awards.

No, your dd is definitely doing enough.
The only bit that led to anything for my dds was the volunteering & she's already doing that.
Never needed it for UCAS & it can be really expensive & takes a fair bit of time planning, packing & driving to the middle of nowhere!

DD hates camping, otherwise she would have applied straight away because she already had all the other aspects covered.
I’m leaning towards no, as tbh we have have enough juggling of clubs etc without adding an extra in.
Thank you to those who have shared their experiences 😊

In that case DofE would be a definite no for me. DD also hates camping so in reality we spent £600 for her to do activities that she was already doing, the only addition DofE made was to make her miserable on a 3 day long expedition.. Not worth it and she certainly didn’t gain anything. 5 years on and she still maintains that she’s never camping again 🤣

No don’t bother. If your dd is doing Cadets or similar anyway I expect she’s getting loads of field craft/camping etc!

That is pretty much exactly why my Ds1 is doing it! He's 14, has autism, is a loner and unsporty. It's also compulsory at his school (Bronze anyway, though they do have an option for the highly-resistant). Hopefully it will get him out of his comfort zone- and tbh mine as I am very much involved with guiding him through daily life out of habit.

ETA- the OP's child sounds like she is well motivated and sorted and has loads of great stuff to showcase her talents already. Good on her!

Don’t do it for a CV! My DC did it for the experience and both loved it! Eldest about to finish her gold 🥰

Nah I wouldn’t bother with it unless she adores outdoors and camping and hiking. It’s so common and a bit of a cliche on a middle class CV it wouldn’t stand out at all.

She's already doing plenty don't push her into it

I'd love it if DS loved the expeditions. I am very much not an outdoors person (neither is DH) so it exposes him to something we would not naturally lean towards.

Sounds like your child’s already involved in lots of activities which helps boost their confidence.

my ds did it because some of his friends were participating and he had never been camping or self sufficient before, so he was learning new skills, dd did it and it really took her out her comfort zone and helped boost her confidence so it was good for that aspect.

It's worth it in itself, because it's fun. But it's not worth it simply as a CV thing.

Sounds like it would be quite easy for your DD, though, since she could use things she's doing already, and the only really new element might be the expedition.