Explorers DofE

It's delivered by several licensed providers across the UK: Scouts being one of the biggest.

 

By taking part, young people build on a huge range of practical and character skills – like resilience, problem-solving, team-working and drive – and come out the other side with a stronger sense of self (something really brilliant to put on their CV) or talk about in their uni and job applications).

 

There are three award levels to achieve:

 

Bronze – for those aged 14+ years*

Silver – for those aged 15+ years*

Gold – for those aged 16+ years

 

Young people build their own custom DofE programme: choosing from a range of skills-based challenges, physical activities, volunteering opportunities and expeditions to suit their interests and goals.

 

Young people can also work towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards while they're taking part in the Young Leader Scheme and volunteering for a set period.

 

Young people taking on their Duke of Edinburgh’s awards often use their volunteering through the Young Leader’s scheme for their Scouts top awards too. Within both the DofE and Scouts awards young people are expected to complete one hour per week of volunteering (or equivalent e.g., 2 hours every two weeks) meaning that Young Leaders are very likely to be completing the volunteering requirements, whether they realise it or not.

 

At Scouts, young people must be Explorer Scouts or Network members to do their DofE Awards. Young Leaders also meet this requirement, but not all Explorer Units will be actively running a DofE or top awards programme.