Duke of Edinburgh
PCS DofE Letters 2023-2024:
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Letter - 13/10/23
Year 9 DofE Letter - 27/9/23
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), is the world’s leading youth achievement award. Established 61 years ago and undertaken by millions of young people, employers, colleges and universities recognise DofE as one of the top programmes through which young people develop valuable personal and work related skills such as: confidence, independence, self-esteem, communication, team work and resilience.
The Award develops these skills through a broad and balanced programme of activities which can be undertaken at three levels Bronze, Silver and Gold. This year we are offering all pupils in year 9 and 10 the opportunity to enrol onto the Bronze DofE Award. Activities are completed for progressively longer timescales at each level and fall into in to the following sections:-
Giving your time freely to help your community, people, environment or animals.
Taking part in an activity that requires a sustained level of physical energy to develop greater physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle.
Developing personal interests by learning a new skill or improving an existing one.
Developing a spirit of adventure and discovery by planning, training for and completing a self-sufficient journey as part of a team.
Sections can be completed simultaneously. However, the length of time spent on each section is a minimum of six months. The students will choose what they do and along the way they will develop skills, friends and talents that will stay with them for the rest of their life.
Why should students become part of the DofE adventure?
Taking part in the DofE will give them skills, confidence and a view on life that everyone is looking for, from employers to colleges and universities. Students also receive recognition for doing things that they want to do (and may even be doing already). Additionally, they will make a difference to other people’s lives and the community, be fitter and healthier, make new friends and have memories that will last a lifetime. Most importantly it is fun and enjoyable.
Ms Baker is the school DofE Manager and will send out further details regarding enrolment to all students and parents before the end of term 1 term.
However, if you are interested in finding out more please log onto the DofE website https://www.dofe.org
Expeditions:
This is only a part of completing the Award but is probably the part most associated with doing DofE. It is certainly the part where participants gain a huge amount of experience and confidence and are challenged to push their limits both physically and mentally. All our expeditions will take place in various locations, usually in an area of the South Downs National Park not too far away. We are hoping to hold our expeditions in Term 6.
Bronze Expedition Outline:
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Training day at PCS covering route planning, navigation, using stoves, meal planning, first aid, teamwork, kit selection and packing, the countryside code and what to do in emergencies.
Tuesday 6th February Training walk after school Thursday 28th March Training walk afternoon Friday 3rd May Training walk all day Monday 3rd - Tuesday 4th June
Thursday 6th - Friday 7th JuneExpedition Group 1
Expedition Group 2 -
A two day, one night qualifying expedition where teams will be assessed by instructors. If you have any questions about the Award, how to start, how to finish, how to use eDofE, how to get assessor reports or what kind of kit you need, it should be in the list below. If you cannot find this, please feel free to contact Miss Baker claire.baker@swale.at.
Activity Log - Very useful as evidence for keeping track of what you do
DofE timescales - a reminder of how long each level should take to complete
Getting started - Advice on getting your Award started in the right way
Section Activities - Advice to help get your sections completed properly
Section Ideas - Not sure what to do for a section, here are some ideas
How parents can help to ensure successful Award completion
E-mail template for contacting your assessor at the end of a section
Bronze Programme Planner - Plan your sections before submitting them on eDofE
Short guide to getting on eDofE
Special Guidance if choosing to volunteer at home or for a family member
DofE Recruitment Flyer - General Information about the Award
The above documents can all be found HERE
Upload an Assessor Report here
Also here add the template email for assessors attached and the flyer how to complete your DofE programme.