Duke of Edinburgh's Award
Duke of Edinburgh is available to all students as they pass through Stowe, being offered alongside their other activities. The award is run by qualified DofE personnel on Monday afternoons at Stowe. In the Fourth Form Stoics can choose to do the DofE Bronze Award instead of CCF (Combined Cadet Force), and they continue to do the Silver Award in the Fifth Form. There is the possibility of joining the Award again in the Lower Sixth to do Direct Entry Gold, provided there are enough places.
Information for Parents
There are three levels of Duke of Edinburgh awards: Gold, Silver and Bronze, with Gold being the highest. At each level, four activities must be completed: a skill, a physical recreation, a service and expeditions. In addition at Gold level each Stoic must attend a five day residential activity of his/her choice.
- Skills followed include playing a musical instrument, drama, art, design technology, cookery, chess, remote control aircraft construction, among others. Many potential skills are available at Stowe.
- Physical Recreation could include many of the sports or games available at Stowe, making it exceptionally easy for participants to fulfill this section.
- The Service section encourages Stoics to think of helping others; activities here include first aid, visiting the elderly, working in a charity shop, conservation work or leadership within the CCF. The School is very lucky to have Mrs Lawrance-Thorne and the National Trust between them finding a great many suitable placements for DofE participants.
- The Expedition section of the award comprises one practice expedition and one qualifying expedition at each level. It is absolutely vital that participants attend both expeditions in order to complete their Award. The dates of the expeditions are currently under review but in general Bronze Awarders go away over weekends in term time whereas the Silver and Gold Awarders should expect to give up a week of either the Easter or the Summer holiday. Previous expeditions at Stowe have for example gone to North Wales, the Cairngorms, and the Peak District.
Requirements
Full details of the section requirements and timescales involved are given here.
There are costs involved in taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. Stoics will need their own boots, rucksacks, waterproofs, sleeping bag, sleeping mat and water bottle, for example, and will need to contribute towards the cost of expeditions. For an indication of costs of recent expeditions, please contact the Master in charge.
To access a copy of our Duke of Edinburgh Award Essential Guide, please click here.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award is very highly rated by Admissions Staff at universities and by employers looking at a young person's CV. In an era when there is fierce competition for university places and many candidates are predicted to meet the required grades, the DofE Gold Award is regularly used as a criteria for choosing which candidates should be offered places. It is with good reason though - the Award is physically and mentally challenging, and requires a young person's ability to see things through to the end.
To find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh Award please visit the official website at www.theaward.org where full up-to-date details of the skills, physical recreation and service choice options are given.
If you wish to find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme at Stowe please email Mr Gwilym Jones (gjones@stowe.co.uk).
Master in charge: Mr Gwilym Jones
Tel: +44 (0)1280 818357
Information for Stoics
What is actually involved in DofE?
There are four main sections to the Award:
Skill: Is an activity which teaches you a 'skill' (something new); activities include: bell ringing, creative textiles, design & technology etc. Physical Recreation: This can be an activity which involves movement or work to be done! Activities include: rowing, rugby, hockey and x-country etc.
Service: This is a service which helps the community, for example at Bronze level you will do First Aid, but as you progress through to Silver and Gold you will get involved in activities in the National Trust and local community.
Expedition: This is where you go outside your school to walk and camp. You have two practice expeditions at Bronze level, one at Silver and Gold, and then an assessed expedition in the Summer term.
Frequently Asked Questions - answered!
Where do we meet, and who will take me?
It depends on how many choose to do DofE, as this will impact on where and with who you meet. This year nearly 64 Stoics chose to do DofE, so there were groups of 17. But don't worry, everything will be explained to you before you start.
Where do we go for expeditions?
For the first expedition of Bronze, this is held around Stowe, the second expedition is usually in Shropshire and your main expedition is in the Peak District. For Silver and Gold, the practice expedition is in Snowdonia and the main expedition is in Scotland. Sometimes where you go changes... but you will be informed!
Useful links
The Met Office - always useful to view before expeditions (follow the links to mountain area forecasts)
BBC Weather - for non-mountaineous areas (like Stowe - enter 'Buckingham')