We are proud to have been a licensed provider for the Duke of Edinburgh Award since 2015. Our Year 9 and 10 students now have the opportunity to sign up for the programme.
What students get from doing DofE
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is a fantastic opportunity for students to broaden their horizons, discover new interests and talents, have fun with friends, develop essential skills for their future like confidence, resilience problem-solving, team-working and self-motivation. The DofE also aligns well with our school values of courage, respect, compassion, endeavour and integrity.
DofE is non-competitive and open to all young people – it’s about setting personal challenges and stretching personal boundaries. There are three levels of the DofE programme which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. After successfully completing the programme they will achieve an internationally renowned Award that is well-regarded by educational institutions and employers, which can help them stand out when applying for apprenticeships, training, university or jobs.
What’s involved?
To achieve their Award, participants must complete four sections: skills, volunteering, physical and their expedition. Every young person’s DofE programme is personal to them – they can choose what they would like to do for their skills, volunteering and physical sections, and most activities can count but they must take place outside the normal school curriculum. We will provide guidance and support for students to choose what to do and help them get started on these sections – students can either choose to continue an activity they already do or discover something completely new.
For more detail you may find this short video helpful https://www.dofe.org/do/parents/
The Expedition
The Expedition section involves your child working as part of a small team to plan their expedition’s aim, choose a location and spend two days and one night in the countryside. Ahead of this, they will take part in training sessions covering basic expedition principles and introducing them to expedition equipment as well as planning their route, meals and sharing of equipment. Participants will only be able to do their expedition if they attend the organised training.
The expedition and training will be run by an external outdoor provider accompanied by Dallam staff. Their instructors are subject to safeguarding checks and are qualified outdoor professionals. Some shared equipment for the group, such as tents, stoves, rucksacks etc. can be provided. Students will need to provide their own personal equipment and food, such as waterproof clothing, sleeping bag and walking boots. Further information can be found at https://www.dofe.org/shopping/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Expedition-Kit-Guide-February-2021-double.pdf . The school does have a small amount of equipment that can be borrowed but this is limited.
Signing up
A letter and enrolment up form have been sent home via ParentMail. You can also download the enrolment forms below:
The cost of getting started on the Bronze DofE is £224 per participant and £285 for Silver DofE. This covers your child’s registration with the DofE, their Welcome Pack, a small administration fee, kit contribution, insurance, two-day overnight training expedition and a two-day overnight final qualifying expedition.
If the cost of taking part is a barrier to your child’s participation in the Award, please contact Mrs J Hornby in the Finance Office (j.hornby@dallamschool.co.uk) for an application form to apply for support. We would encourage parents/carers to apply as funds are available towards the cost. This will be dealt with in the strictest confidence.
If you would like any further information, please feel free to contact Mrs Carlyle k.carlyle@dallamschool.co.uk who is our DofE Manager.