DofE - Gold
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at QEHS – Gold Award
At QEHS, the Gold DofE Award is offered to students in Year 12 as one of their options for Leadership and Enrichment on a Wednesday afternoon. You can undertake the Gold Award even if you haven’t completed the Bronze or Silver Awards.
To achieve the Gold award, students complete five sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, a four-day Expedition and a 5-day Residential.
Volunteering Section
Volunteering is about giving time to do something meaningful, motivated by making a difference rather than making money.
Participants should look for impactful opportunities around them – this can be in person or online. Meaningful volunteering is different for everyone. There are many people and organisations that are willing to provide participants with opportunities for volunteering. An opportunity could be found within your community, at social enterprises, charities, not-for-profit organisations and Volunteering Approved Activity Providers.
Young people can also volunteer for social action causes, campaigns and within their Licensed Organisation (e.g., their school or youth group). Some commercial organisations can be considered, providing they can demonstrate that they offer volunteering opportunities in line with our outcomes and not as a financial benefit to themselves.
Physical Section
For your physical activity you need to choose any sport, dance or fitness activity – in short, anything that requires a sustained level of energy and physical activity. For example, playing a sport regularly and showing personal improvement would count. However, learning to be a coach in the same sport would be a Skills section activity, whilst being a volunteer coach counts for the Volunteering section.
Skills Section
For your skills activity you need to choose an activity that will allow you to prove you have broadened your understanding and increased your expertise in your chosen skill. It should not be a physical activity, for example horse riding, as this counts towards your Physical section, however, you could choose to learn about caring for horses.
Expedition Section
For your Expedition section, you will need to plan, train for and complete an unaccompanied, self-reliant expedition with an agreed aim. You must do the correct training for your level and mode of travel. Your expedition must be completed by your own physical efforts with minimal external intervention and without motorised assistance. Your route should also be a continuous journey.
At QEHS we complete the Silver Expeditions in the Peak District. The practice expedition takes place in April and the qualifying expedition in June. The expedition involves 3 days of walking with 2 nights of camping.
Residential Section
Your DofE residential is a key part of your Gold Award, where you have the opportunity to challenge yourself, learn valuable life skills, embrace new experiences, and have fun with new people. You may choose to hone the skills developed through your favourite hobbies like art or photography, or dive into a new experience such as volunteering at a summer camp, working on a conservation project, or going on a cookery or sports course.
During your residential, you’ll find yourself in a new environment, surrounded by people you’ve never met – often from diverse backgrounds. Together, you’ll take on challenges, expand your horizons, and work as a team to create meaningful impact. By finding opportunities that interest you away from your usual group of friends, you’ll feel empowered by developing your initiative and planning skills.
Through completing the Residential section, we hope you’ll experience real growth. Hopefully you’ll:
- Develop your self-confidence
- Work on your independence
- Accept responsibility for yourself and others
- Develop communication skills and effective coping mechanisms.
Your residential is more than just an activity week – it’s a chance to discover new passions and make memories that will last a lifetime.
The DofE website has some great help on finding a residential:
- https://www.dofe.org/thelatest/low-cost-residentials/
- https://www.dofe.org/opportunity-finder/opportunity-for-dofe-participant/
