The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award
Introduction
The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is an incredible experience and qualification, but it takes commitment in order to gain an Award. Please therefore take the time to read this whole document carefully to prevent any confusion or disappointment in the future.
Since the Award began in 1956, its aim has been to help young people plan and undertake their own programme of activities to develop themselves mentally, physically and emotionally. The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is widely recognised by employers and education providers as the definitive qualification for demonstrating self-reliance, commitment and dedication. All this, and a lot of fun along the way. Some of the benefits to young people include:
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developing self-confidence and self-reliance
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gaining a sense of achievement and a sense of responsibility
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discovering new skills, interests and talents
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developing leadership skills and abilities.
This is achieved through young people undertaking a range of activities for the four different Award sections.
What makes up the Award?
The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award consists of four sections (help with finding activities for these sections is on the following page):
1. Skill section – Young people must spend at least one hour per week learning a new life skill (outside of school lessons). There are hundreds of different activities that young people can choose from. Popular choices include music, art, drama, cooking, DJing, committee skills, graffiti art, learning to drive and sign language. Unfortunately sports cannot count for this section (even though you need to learn skills to do them), this is because sports come under the physical recreation section.
2. Service section – This section requires young people to spend at least one hour per week doing voluntary work. This gives young people the opportunity to get out into their communities and give something back (Note: This cannot be working for free for a commercial organisation like a hairdressers, shop, café etc).
3. Physical Recreation section – This section requires young people to spend at least one hour per week of their own time engaging in physical recreation. It can be any form of activity and does not need to be in a team or competitive environment.
4. Adventurous Journey section
The Adventurous Journey is a unique opportunity for your child to experience self-reliance and teamwork in an outdoor environment. The length of the Adventurous Journey varies depending on the level of the Award:
Bronze Level – Adventurous Journey takes two days (one night)
Silver Level – Adventurous Journey takes three days (two nights)
Gold Level – Adventurous Journey takes four days (three nights)
UCAS Recognized International Award of DofE
英国大学申请系统（UCAS）鼓励申请者将爱丁堡公爵国际奖的经历写在申请书中，并且在UCAS的个人陈述指导页面明确指出了爱奖的价值，将其列为加分项
UCAS encourages applicants to include the Duke of Edinburgh‘s International Award in their applications, and the value of the Award is clearly stated on the UCAS personal statement guidance page as an added qualification.
The Creativity, Action, Service (CAS) Programme and the International Award of DofE
DofE programmes fit closely with the CAS programme. Both programmes promote individual challenge in areas such as physical activities, skills and community service. The table below shows how the CAS and DofE programmes complement each other:
Doing more than the minimum International Award of DofE activities can be done either in one's own personal time or as an option in supported/core time education. In the CAS, pupils choose to do activities outside of their academic work, which complements DofE programmes. In fact, by setting DofE activities and targets at the beginning of the year, young people are encouraged to record their work. Their CAS hours will be easily reached in time, even if they still have some work to do to finish their
International Award of DofE.
Registration:
We are excited to invite you to register for the Duke of Edinburgh's International Award! To make the registration process convenient, you can choose one of the following options:
Register online by clicking the link below or scan the QR code to access the registration form. Please note that the registration deadline is September 18th 2024. Be sure to complete your registration before this date to secure your spot in the program!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out.