Duke of Edinburgh Bronze - worth it?

[NikkiNokkiNooNah]

13yr old DS is at fee paying school on a scholarship and has opportunity to enrol on DoE Bronze award scheme but I really know very little about it. School not really wanting to be too involved aside from offering it up as an option. He is not keen but not totally against the idea. Does it add much value to their education/future prospects overall? Is it a prestigious thing to have in your repertoire or is it outdated and not much value anymore? I have no idea. Please can I have some feedback from anyone who has been through this stage. Many thanks. 😘

And I think it’s great at doing all that, esp if they decide to carry in doing the silver and gold.

dc1 was able to develop his leadership skills (aka he loved telling people what to do lol) right from the start.

If he's not keen, I wouldn't push it. It's a big commitment, and it offers a lot to students who are keen (not the award itself, but the things they do to get the award). Students who are doing it because they think they should often tend to drop out along the way.

He also doesn't have to do bronze to do silver or gold, later down the line, if he wishes.

Like the other poster we still remember ours almost 30 years ago

We had a great time

It won't make any difference to their university applications if that's what you mean. Mine did it because they grew up in Enid Blyton land and love that sort of thing. If he doesn't want to do it, don't make him.

If he's not fussed, I would channel his energies elsewhere tbh. Better he finds an outlet that he really enjoys.

Having a gold DofE is still noteworthy and has wow factor. But bronze level is so commonplace it has little impact on Uni admission's tutors or future employers....

Even Gold won't help with university entrance!

DS1 did it through school. He quite enjoyed it but I'm sure it had no bearing on his uni acceptance, and actually said many of the expeditions he'd done through scouts were more challenging.

Having a gold DofE is still noteworthy and has wow factor.

Loads did the full set at DDs school, it's really not that uncommon now - especially at private and grammars. The least interesting half sentence about teamwork at the end of her PS.
But worth doing as an end in itself if they want to do it - takes a bit of determination to walk for several days wild camping in Scotland carrying a rucksack as big as you are!

If he's not bothered I would leave it for now. DS's school let them go straight on to the silver in year12. DS didn't get far due to COVID but he was doing equivalent 'stuff' anyway.

Does it add much value to their education/future prospects overall? Is it a prestigious thing to have in your repertoire or is it outdated and not much value anymore? I

It isn't for prestige.

It isn't about "adding value to their education".

Having a Bronze Award won't add to future prospects, no.

However doing the Bronze award (properly) may well improve future prospects as the DofE award is all about developing the the whole person.

That certainly isn't outdated and certainly is relevant.

It's not that big a commitment at Bronze level, in my experience.
Two weekends of expeditions (practice, main)- one night each. Main issue was borrowing all the kit and buying boots.
Skill and physical was activities she was doing anyway (piano, boxing).
Volunteering is indeed a pita due to restrictions on what 14 yr olds can do. My DD went back to her primary school to rearrange the library, other options might be coaching a junior football team or raising money for charity. Not as onerous as in my day.
If he is doing these sorts of things already, I would encourage him to do the expeditions too as they can be good fun and teach teamwork. But as others say, it's not all about "prospects".

Loads did the full set at DDs school, it's really not that uncommon now - especially at private and grammars. The least interesting half sentence about teamwork at the end of her PS.

321, 622 people started a DofE award (all levels) in 21-22
Around 12000 completed their Gold

Very roughly, 3.5% of starters of the scheme complete it.
Even without factoring that the considerable majority of young people don't even start it, I think it is quite impressive to be one of those 3.5%

Thinking about it, having the Duke of Edinburgh award (not having the award per se, but having done the activities required) helped DS get a part time job in sixth form. Having work experience helped him then get an apprenticeship after sixth form. So I guess it did help his future prospects :)

(locally we've noticed private schools not that keen on DofE - they offer it but have worse take up than most of the state schools. Anecdotally this is because these students are already loaded up with activities and can't fit more in. Which I suspect has a grain of truth. Doing D of E can be a time eater.)

I did bronze and silver. I would encourage my children to do it, but I would not push it if they did not want to. I think I gained a lot through it, but I wanted to do it. It definitely encourages stepping out of your comfort zone and it boosted my confidence.

My son is involved with mini duke. I will absolutely support him to carry on in the programme, but I do not see it as a magic ticket to uni or anything.

My daughter did it. What she learned was that some people are nasty, mean, and cruel. One of the worst experiences of her life.

DS did it, he hated the skill part and cooking, found the sport bit easy as he was already playing football, but it was the volunteering that really helped him later on rather than the award itself. He struggled to get work through covid (only 15 when we went through first lockdown, then all of the jobs had gone by the summer when he turned 16). But when he did come to apply he had 6 months of volunteering at a primary school as a football coach after school once a week, (they asked him to stay on for another term after the initial 12 weeks was up) which led to him doing his work experience there in year 10 and some more volunteering with them later on. It was really all he had on his cv when he finally applied for jobs and I'm sure helped him out. He also really grew up and gained confidence in himself through the volunteering and it spurred him on to do more for the love of it.

Thanks everyone for your input. I guess i was looking at it from the wrong perspective. I totally get now that it is more about what he can get out of the experience and how it can improve his confidence etc rather than something to improve his uni application or future jobs. Really appreciate everyone who took the time to reply.

Dd hated the Bronze. It was cold, wet, she cried and held up her team mates. Not DoE material, my dd .

I would not put anyone through it who did not want to do it. Made zilch difference to her uni applications. She had lots to talk about on her Personal Statement without having to mention it. Shudder.

Interesting you say that. My ds is at a very academic independent school. They barely pushed the DoE at all.

It's definitely more about giving them skills and experiences and gaining confidence.
One of my dcs did it and the other didn't want to. They did some volunteering though which I personally think, is the most valuable element.

Utterly put me off hiking / walking for the whole of my twenties and thirties only in the last few years have I started walking again as my bronze expeditions so bloody miserable. Guess it’s character building. One of mine was keen but covid stopped it sadly the second flatly refused to do it (very cool party girl hiking really not her thing).

Interestingly, it was the expeditions that started me on a lifelong love of walking and the outdoors. It meant we were able to go away as youngsters - initially without our parents, but then as we got older, to meet up for weekends when we didn't have much money, and have great short holidays with friends.

I'd not really walked before doing my DofE.

Worth it for map reading and first aid training
Not worth it for Uni applications