Gold D of E ? ...

[123heyho]

DD, lower sixth (year 12) is currently look into doing Gold D of E, direct entry. She is starting A levels and will be doing it during her A levels with the intent of finishing before she goes to uni/ leaves sixth form.
Do you have any experience of dc doing gold d of e, did they enjoy it - the expeditions? Additionally, did it take up much of their time?
Also, what did you dc do as their physical, volunteering and skills?
Thank you all for your time!

It's supposed to take up a lot of time. I couldn't have done that when I was 17. Good luck to her. x

ds is just finishing his, and dd is almost there with hers.
There is quite a time commitment, but, if they are busy people anyway, then they can count things they are already doing.

ds loved the exhibitions, dd doesn't like walking so isn't looking forward to that part.
Physical : ds - football dd climbing
Volunteering: Both already help with younger sections of the Scouts
Skills: ds - learning to drive dd : music (was already having lessons and playing regularly)

What did they do for the expedition, BfG?

There is quite a time commitment, but, if they are busy people anyway, then they can count things they are already doing.

DD fell into this category. She did a sport out of school so Wednesday afternoon was used for volunteering. She also did all the levels (Bronze, Silver) so she didn't have to do so much for Gold. She didn't do anything special, just the usual - sport, music lessons, dancing exams, helping at Guides, that sort of thing.
A lot of her friends did all the elements of the Award but never got round to finishing off the paperwork (they had left school by then) so never got the trip to St James's Palace.
She really enjoyed it. All the extra curricular have stood her in good stead in building confidence, presence, teamwork, resilience, etc, etc. Lots to shoehorn into the UCAS application form.

Oops - just re-read my earlier post and I put exhibitions rather than expeditions

lljkk - Ds did Hiking in Snowdonia - lot of walking and the project was something like 'Looking at Tourism and Tourist Facilities in the Area'. Can't remember where he did his practice. My dc do a lot of camping / walking / navigating anyway, through Scouts, so nothing new to them in the expedition bit really.

Gold leader here...

What tends to work best is when it's linked to possible career choices eg one boy last year chose to volunteer with a lady who has Alzheimer's - he's applying to do medicine. Another boy is planning to do zoology - and has just done a residential at a zoo. The expeditions should be a challenge but manageable...

I did it between 6th form and my early 20s. I would advise doing the bits which need other people earlier if possible - it's just easier to do the expedition if you're with a group who are all doing it together. My service was swimming teaching, because swimming club was involved with DofE, and sponsored the training, and I could teach lessons with them before going on to my own swimming training. My skill was driving - I'd have learnt to drive anyway, so it fitted in with that. I did my physical later, not that long before the upper age limit, and a few years after most of the rest of it had been done (finished school, university and was in full-time work.) I did trampolining, having done swimming for bronze and silver.

I am a completer-finisher sort of person, so I knew I would do it rather than have put in the effort for most of it and then let it go, but I think a lot of other people, if they weren't still doing it through school or another organisation, just wouldn't be motivated to finish it, so you need to take into consideration what sort of self-motivation is there, and what sort of personality is involved. I think doing it all while in the 6th form would be a big time commitment, even if you fit it in with things you'd probably be doing anyway, and possibly could conflict with exam needs, especially if they're direct entry.

I later did Raleigh International, and quite a few people there were using it for their residential (I had completed my gold by then.) National Trust Acorn Camps were popular.

The expedition for gold has to be in wild country, which roughly means in the national park areas if it's in the UK.