Posted on: 20/09/2024
Duke of Edinburgh's Awards
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a challenging programme of activities designed for young people aged between 14 – 25. It is designed to be enjoyable and rewarding while also promoting personal development, self-reliance and leadership skills. It consists of a balanced, non-competitive programme of voluntary activities, which encourages personal discovery and growth, self-reliance, perseverance, responsibility to themselves and service to the community. In order to gain an award a pupil must show improvement through persistence and achievement.
The Award operates at three levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold); the higher the level, the more time and effort is required. Completion of the Award is voluntary, as students commit some of their own time to undertake activities which they have selected.
At Bartholomew School, students are offered the chance to participate in the Bronze level during Year 9, and many go on to complete their Silver during Year 10 then Gold in the Sixth Form. Participants who complete the Gold Award are invited to a ceremony at St James’ Palace, London, where their certificate is presented to them by a member of the Royal Family.
Each level of the award has four sections to complete, Volunteering, Skill, Physical and Expedition. There is an additional section for Gold participants to complete, which is a five day residential.
Expeditions are undertaken under the supervision of appropriately qualified professionals, to a variety of areas including the Oxfordshire Ridgeway, the Cotswolds, Wye Valley, Mendip hills, Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia.
Students who are interested in taking part should attend the introductory assemblies/meetings.
You will need to fill in the enrolment form and medical form which can be found here: https://forms.office.com/e/A0bHTeNmbU
Please click for some ideas to help you complete each section. We offer an extensive range of extra-curricular activities at Bartholomew which can help you to fulfil each section, here is the link to our list of clubs. Activities you do outside of school could also count towards the different sections. Choose activities that motivate you and go on your own personal journey. We expect all participants to abide by the DofE 20 Conditions during their expedition section.
Bronze Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Timescale
The Physical, Skills and Volunteering sections must be undertaken once a week, with two of these sections to be completed over three months, and one over six months. Although students will be assisted in selecting appropriate activities and monitored throughout the delivery of the Award, completion of these sections will primarily be the responsibility of the students taking part. Please click the link below to access the Assessor's report.
How to get your Assessor Report
Commitment
Although students will have meetings with our DofE Manager, we would like to remind you that, as this is an extracurricular activity, we expect students, as well as parents/carers, to ensure that the different sections are completed and they are done so on time.
Please ensure that your child is committed to completing all four parts of the Award.
Practice weekend: Saturday 31st May to Sunday 1st June 2025
Assessed weekend: Saturday 28th June to Sunday 29th June 2025
Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award
We are proud to have offered the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Bartholomew School for many years, providing students with valuable experiences and opportunities. This year, we are excited to continue supporting students through both the Bronze and Gold Awards. Unfortunately, due to current staffing limitations, we are pausing the Silver Award offering for the time being. We understand that this may be disappointing, and appreciate your understanding. Please rest assured that if circumstances change to allow us to host the Silver DofE Award within school, we will of course share this update with our school community.
Should your child still wish to participate in the Silver DofE Award, there is an opportunity to do this via The Oxfordshire Open Award, which can be found at the website www.oxfordshiredofe.org.uk. This organisation is made up of a group of experienced Oxfordshire DofE volunteers, who run a county-wide DofE award for groups and individual participants. If your child wishes to enrol with Oxfordshire Open Award, then enquiries can be sent to the following email address: enquiries@oxfordshiredofe.org.uk.
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Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Information about the Gold DofE award, which takes place during Years 12 & 13, can be found on our Sixth Form 'Gold DofE' page.
Further Information and Links
You can find useful information by clicking on the following links: DofE websiteeDofE website"Welcome to the DofE" film
In conjunction with BXM: BXM websiteKit listProgramme IdeasEnrolment Form
