Duke of Edinburgh Award

Empowering young people; supporting them as they learn new skills, overcome obstacles, and build confidence and resilience.

Any young person can do their Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award - regardless of ability, gender, background or location. Achieving an Award is not a competition, or about being first. It is all about setting personal challenges and pushing personal boundaries.

What is the Duke of Edinburgh Award?

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is a life-changing experience: a fun time with friends; opportunity to discover new interests and talents; a tool to develop essential skills for life and work. It is a recognised mark of achievement and highly respected by employers.

Students from the age of 14 can begin to complete the Duke of Edinburgh programme. St Mary’s currently offers students the opportunity to complete the Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Each Duke of Edinburgh Award requires participants to spend between 3 and 6 months (depending on the level) completing four sections: physical activity, skill development, volunteering, and an expedition.

For the Bronze Award, participants are required to complete a two-day expedition with one night camping.

For the Silver Award, participants must complete a three-day expedition with two nights of camping.

Why do the Duke of Edinburgh Award?

For the hundreds of thousands of young people who take part each year, the benefits of achieving a Duke of Edinburgh Award (at any level) are endless. The award is about helping you along the path to a productive and prosperous future. As many of our participants say, it is life-changing!

Achieving an award will give you skills, confidence and an edge over others when you apply for college, university, or a job. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of so-called ‘soft skills’ that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership, and teamwork. Your Duke of Edinburgh Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.

You will also make a difference to other people’s lives and your community, become fitter and healthier, make new friends and have memories that will last a lifetime. 

Our participants also tell us that doing their DofE gives them character traits like confidence and resilience, that can boost their mental health and wellbeing and help them face and overcome personal challenges.  

When can I take part? 

• Bronze Award - for those aged 14+ years (currently offered to our Year 9 pupils)

• Silver Award - for those aged 15+ years (currently offered to our Year 10 and Year 12 pupils)

• Gold Award - for those aged 16+ years (not currently offered at St Mary's)