What is the DofE Award?
DofE, or Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, is a national youth achievement award open to young people up to the age of 24. The popular award is new to Malet Lambert School. The DofE Award consists of three levels: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
Each level has four sections:
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Physical
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Volunteering
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Skill
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Expedition.
The Gold Award also has a residential component.
These different activities involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition and, for Gold only, working with a team on a residential activity.
Any young person can do their DofE – regardless of ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an Award isn’t a competition or about being first. It’s all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries.
Why do DofE?
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been a British institution for over 65 years now and during that time has become a highly sought after Award which is widely recognised by British employers and Universities alike. The reason why both employers and Universities have such high regard for the Award are the skills it instils in young people and the level of commitment it demands.
The skills students develop while undertaking the Award include:
Self-belief
Self-confidence
A sense of identity
Initiative
A sense of responsibility
A real awareness of their strengths
New talents and abilities
The ability to plan and use time
The ability to learn from and give to others in the community
New friendships
Problem solving, presentation and communication skills
Leadership and teamworking skills
The Award achieves this by providing a balanced, non-competitive programme which is voluntary and available to all.