DofE Time Requirements Explained

It is a time of year when lots of young people are thinking about the Duke of Edinburgh Award and what activities they would like to do for each of the sections.  If you are new to DofE working out exactly what you need to do can feel a bit overwhelming so here is a quick summary of the requirements for each of the sections:

The time requirements will depend on the Award that you are working towards - Bronze, Silver or Gold.  You can find the time requirements on the DofE website HERE.

In summary:

BRONZE AWARD

For the Bronze Award participants must complete:

- A Volunteering, Physical and Skills Section. 2 of these sections are for 3 months and one of these sections must be for 6 months. You can choose which.

- Expedition section: 2 days / 1 night

If you would like to do cookery for your skills section but are unsure whether you would like to do it for 3 or 6 months you can sign up for our 3 month course and always extend to 6 months later on.

SILVER AWARD

The timescales will depend on whether you have already achieved your Bronze award or if you have gone straight into the Silver Award.

If you have already achieved your Bronze Award then you are required to complete:

- Volunteering section: 6 months

- Physical and Skills section: one section for 3 months and one section for 6 months. You can choose which.

- Expedition: 3 days/2 nights

If you would like to do cookery for your skills section but are unsure whether you would like to do it for 3 or 6 months you can sign up for our 3 month course and always extend to 6 months later on.

If you did not do the Bronze Award, you must undertake a further 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills Section.  If you chose to extend Skills you would need to do our 12 month course. 

GOLD AWARD

The timescales will depend on whether you have already achieved your Silver award or if you have gone straight into the Gold Award.

- Volunteering Section: 12 months

- Physical and Skills Sections: one Section for 6 months and one Section for 12 months. You can choose which.

- Expedition section: 4 days / 3 nights

- Residential Section: 5 days / 4 nights

If you did not do Silver (even if you have done Bronze) you must undertake a further 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections.  If you would like to extend your Skill, you would need our 18 month course.

You can find all of the information on our DofE courses HERE.