Creating GOLDen memories with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

How Capita Entrust Outdoor Education team delivers to and supports schools with their Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) provision.

When I’m looking to employ someone new, I’m always looking for that little extra something on the application forms that makes a candidate stand out and I know that anyone who has completed their Gold DofE Award is going to at least have a good adventure story to tell.

But more than that, I appreciate what it takes to earn that award, and if they are able to transfer the personal characteristics needed to complete this award into the workplace, then I’m potentially going to have a great member of staff joining the team.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was founded in 1956 by Prince Phillip and an interesting exploration of the history of the award can be found here. The DofE website DofE - The Duke of Edinburgh's Award outlines the intended impact of the Awards: 

‘Through a DofE programme young people have fun, make friends, improve their self-esteem and build confidence. They gain essential skills and attributes for work and life such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVs and university and job applications.’ 

The Award is divided into three progressively more challenging levels – Bronze, Silver and Gold.  Although it is famous for the Expedition element, which sees thousands of teenagers every year navigating and camping self-sufficiently in the countryside, the young people also need to complete 3 other sections – Physical, Skill & Volunteering at each level to complete the Award.  For Gold candidates, they need to complete a weeklong residential too. 

So, when I meet a candidate that has a DofE Award, especially at Gold level, I know I’m meeting someone who has the ability to commit to things.  They will have grit – the passion and perseverance to keep going even when things get tough.  They will have faced a variety of challenges and been willing to learn and apply new skills to overcome them.  They won’t have been able to do this alone either and will have worked with and supported others for them all to achieve.

The DofE Awards are delivered by Licensed Organisations such as schools, scouts, cadets and other youth organisations. 

Our outdoor education team has been supporting school based licensed organisations since 2017, most notably as an Approved Activities Provider where the schools purchase the practical delivery of expeditions, but also in provision of Educational Visits Advice which give support and guidance to schools who may wish to run their own expeditions.

In 2024, we had the privilege of providing qualifying expeditions to almost 900 young people.  The majority of these were at Bronze Level, which as well as being a noteworthy experience in itself, acts as an introduction to the next levels.  This year we have delivered Silver qualifying expeditions to almost 200 people, where their ability to be self-sufficient is challenged for two nights and three full days. Only those with true determination and perseverance make it through to the Gold Qualifying expedition and in 2024, enabling 17 young people to do this.

Most expeditions are usually completed on foot and the gold level usually takes place in much more challenging terrain over a period of four full days and three nights.  Our DofE Gold trekking expeditions see the group crossing the wonderful hills and valleys of the north Lake District for example.  

But there are other ways of completing expeditions too, and this year saw a Gold canoeing group complete a training expedition on the River Trent and a qualifying expedition on the River Severn. These trips require the participants to develop river navigation skills, learn how to pack and paddle a canoe, and learn how to stay safe on moving water.

Overall, we’ve delivered 65 expeditions to 19 schools in 2024.  This means we’ve enabled over 3 months’ worth of continuous nights under canvas! 

And while the young people are working hard on their expedition, it’s worth remembering that these expeditions wouldn’t be possible without the support of their teachers.  They put an enormous amount of time and effort in preparing for the expeditions, ensuring the pastoral safety of the young people and giving their time– often outside of working hours – to enable these experiences.

To support the teachers, we offer an Educational Visits Advice service.  This service has experts who the school can talk to and get specialist advice to ensure that trips outside of school like DofE are safe, enjoyable and beneficial.  As DofE is such a specific topic that many schools engage with, each November we organise a DofE Conference for school leaders across the region that bringing teachers together for updates directly from DofE, enables the sharing of best practise and providing CPD on planning, problem solving and personal development.

Because of all the above, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has stood the test of time and remains as a respected and well-earned award whereby young people can feel proud of their achievements.  

So, next time you see the words ‘DofE Award’ on a job application, take the opportunity to explore this with them as you may well find that person is worth their weight in gold.