Here at St Thomas More Catholic Academy we have seen a thriving community being built through DofE and success from all participants.

Most recently students working towards their Bronze DofE, completing their Qualifying Expedition in the Peak District National Park in June. They endured sweltering temperatures and coped by consuming copious quantities of water. Many of the participants wish to progress onto the Silver Award, and we shall be enrolling for the next Bronze group in September. The first meeting will be on Wednesday 19th September, to watch the presentations from the previous Bronze and Silver groups.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (commonly abbreviated DofE), is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young adults for completing a series of self-improvement exercises modelled on Kurt Hahn‘s solution to the “Six Declines of Modern Youth”.

In the United Kingdom, the programme is run by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a royal charter corporation. A separate entity, The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation, promotes the award abroad and acts as a coordinating body for award sponsors in other nations, which are organised into 62 National Award Authorities and a number of Independent Operators. Award sponsors in countries outside the United Kingdom may title their awards Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, though the recognition also operates under a variety of other names in countries without a historic link to the British monarchy, or that have severed such links.

With assistance from adult Leaders, participants select and set objectives in each of the following areas:

• Volunteering: undertaking service to individuals or the community.
• Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities.
• Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal interests.
• Expedition: planning, training for, and completion of an adventurous journey in the UK or abroad.
• At Gold level, participants must do an additional fifth Residentialsection, which involves staying and working away from home for five days, doing a shared activity.

To achieve an award, the participant must work on each section for a minimum period of time, and must be monitored and assessed by someone with knowledge of the chosen activities. Each progressive level demands more time and commitment from participants: Bronze 3–6 months; Silver: 6–9 months; Gold: 12–18 months. Participants are required to show regular activity and commitment to the award for the duration of their DofE programme, which is usually at least one hour per week