Duke of Edinburgh Award
The Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award is a non-competitive, internationally recognised programme designed to encourage young people to develop positive skills and lifestyle habits. The Award is about personal challenge. It provides a balanced program of voluntary activities which encourages personal discovery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and service to their community.
Structure of the Award
The DofE programme consists of three progressive levels which, when completed, leads to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. At King Edward VI King’s Norton School for Boys students are offered the opportunity to participate with the Bronze DofE Award in year 9. If students successfully complete their Bronze DofE Award, they are offered the opportunity to progress onto their Silver DofE Award in year 10 & 11.
There are four sections to complete at Bronze and Silver level. They involve helping the community/environment; participating in a physical activity; developing new skills; and working as a team to plan, train and complete an expedition.
Benefits
Any student at King Edward VI King’s Norton School for Boys can do their DofE – regardless of their ability or background. Achieving an Award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries. Through the DofE programme students have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing their CVs and university and job applications. Beyond academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of ‘soft skills’ that have been developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. The DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.