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Gold Award

Three years on from our first group of students completing their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award,  the school now has eighty three students who have registered to begin their gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. Forty one students have already completed their Gold expedition with a further thirty students expected to complete their expeditions this year. Eleven students have already registered for expeditions in 2021. Nineteen students have now completed their Gold award and have collected their awards at either Buckingham Palace or St James Palace, with the remaining students working towards completion.

Any student aged 16 and over can apply to start their Gold award, regardless of whether they have completed a Duke of Edinburgh Award previously. However, the expedition cannot be completed until the students are in Year 12. We do actively encourage Year 11 students to register for their award as soon as they reach the age of 16. If students do not stay onto 6th form there are many local opportunities at colleges and open award groups to complete their award.

Gold timescales:

Volunteering section: 12 months

Physical and Skills sections: one section for 12 months and the other section for 6 months

Expedition section: Training Day, 4 days/3 nights (Practice) and 5 days/4 nights (Qualifying). One of these days is an acclimatisation day not on expedition – Additional training days  for overseas expeditions are required.

Residential section: undertaking a shared activity in a residential setting away from home for 5 days and 4 nights.

If a student did not complete the Silver Award, they must undertake a further 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections. (Taking the total of one section to 18 months)

Assessors

The students will need to find an assessor for each of their three sections.  This person must have an interest or expertise in the section and NOT be a family member. The students will meet with their assessor BEFORE they start their section to discuss their aims. The assessor will then monitor progress and write a report at the end of the time. The report will need to be submitted to eDofE.org/assessor, or photographed and uploaded to the participants eDofE account.

How much does it cost?

The cost of registering for the award is £35. This covers the welcome pack, Licenced Organisation administration charge and school administration charge. To apply for a place (over 16 only) please complete the online application form. A Parent Pay payment will then be set up for £35.

The expedition costs, if completed with school, will be approximately £600 for a UK based practice AND Qualifying expeditions.

We are delighted to have been able to offer an overseas expedition to Poland in July 2020. The total cost of this trip is £1285 including a practice in the UK. Alternative locations may be sought in the future and the cost will be dependant on flights and additional training required.

The other sections' costs will depend on what you choose to do.

School Gold Expedition (on foot) Dates 2020 (6th form only)

Parent meeting: October 2019 7pm Barbirolli Hall

Training Day: 8th of February at SCD 9.30am – 4pm – 6th form centre

Parent meeting 2: 8th of February 2020 at 3.30pm at SCD 6th from centre

Practice expedition: 4th – 6th April 2020 (Brecon Beacons)

Planning for qualifying: from 7th April 2020  at Home with group

Additional training day for Poland 2020: Tuesday 22nd June – 9am – 3.30pm - BH

Qualifying expedition UK: 9th – 13th July 2020 (Peak District)

Qualifying Expedition Poland: 9th – 16th July 2020 (Poland)

If a student is unable to attend the school expedition dates there are many other opportunities. We are pleased to be working with Adventure Expeditions this year. They do provide alternative dates for expeditions which can be found on their website. Please advise them on booking that you are linked to SCD and we will deal with payments. http://www.adventure-expeditions.net/

Alternative expeditions can be found on the DofE web site. Here you’ll find a list of Approved Activity Providers (AAP’s) who do open expeditions, including horseback, canoeing and cycling. Any student can apply to do these expeditions in their own time and still complete their award with school. The list also includes residential opportunities, but please note that the students should not be booking these with their friends; the aim of this section is to meet new people.

Additional paperwork for the residential sections needs to be completed before they book their residential trip.

Find AAP’s here: 

https://www.dofe.org/opportunity-finder/opportunity-for-dofe-participant/

For more information about the award visit:

WWW.DOFE.ORG

To contact the DofE manager Mrs Kirby

email: dofe@stclementdanes.herts.sch.uk

 

Downloads

Page Downloads File Size  
Programme Ideas: Physical section 77.81 KB Download
Residential Checklist 115.4 KB Download
Programme Ideas : Skills section 79.05 KB Download
Programme Ideas: Volunteering section 66.07 KB Download
Residential Approval Request 77.45 KB Download