The Duke of Edinburgh's Award

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (or D of E), also popularly known as The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme, is an award for personal achievement that can be obtained by anyone aged from 14 to 25, regardless of personal ability. Around 225,000 participants are taking part in the Award programme at any time in the United Kingdom, taking on average around a year. It began in the United Kingdom and is popular in the Commonwealth. The Award is also run in other Countries by the International Award Association.

History

A pilot award scheme "for Boys" started in 1956, with Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh as chairman. The award borrowed from the Moray Badge, instituted at Gordonstoun School by its headmaster, Kurt Hahn, in 1934, and the County Badge adopted in Morayshire in 1941. The first Gold Awards were made in 1958, when a parallel scheme "for Girls" was piloted, and the charity was established in 1959. A combined scheme for "Young People" aged 14 to 21 was launched in 1969, and extended to those up to 25 in 1980. ^[1]

The Award

The Award itself has three levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. To obtain an award, participants must demonstrate achievement at the appropriate level in various activities in four sections:

1. Service: helping the community (for example, working with a charity)
2. Skills: a hobby, skill or interest (for example, showing progress with a musical instrument);
3. Physical recreation: sports, dance, or fitness; and
4. Expeditions: can be by bicycle, horseback, or water, but most commonly on foot.

The expedition can be taken almost anywhere in the countryside. For example, in the UK, popular places for expeditions are the national parks, particularly the Lake District, Dartmoor, the Peak District, Pembrokeshire and Snowdonia. Some groups undertake their expedition in places outside the UK, such as the South of France or Kenya, and a number of companies organise such trips. The expedition must be planned and prepared for in advance, and at least one practice journey of equivalent difficulty must be undertaken. The expedition party is expected to be self-sufficient and have an aim, such as a nature project.

Participants aiming for the Gold Award must also take part in one additional fifth section, a residential project. The residential project must be 5 days and 4 nights away from home with unfamiliar people to achieve some form of purposeful enterprise.

Time frames

The Bronze Award takes a minimum of six months to complete, with the participant having to complete three months work in two of the three main sections (service, skills, and physical recreation) and six months in the third. The expedition must be an overnight trip spanning two days.

At Silver Award level, participants must complete six months of in the service section. Of the skills and physical recreation sections, one must be undertaken for six months and the other for three months. Participants who have not completed the Bronze Award must add an extra three months in either the service section or in the longer of the skill and physical recreation sections (so one activity takes nine months, another takes six months, and the third takes three months). The expedition must last for three consecutive days, including the two nights between them.

At Gold Award level, participants must complete twelve months in the service section. Of the skills and physical recreation sections, one must be undertaken for twelve months and the other for six months. Participants who have not completed the Silver Award must add an extra six months in either the service section or in the longer of the skill and physical recreation sections (so one activity takes eighteen months, another takes twelve months, and the third takes six months). The expedition must last for four days and three nights. In addition, to the usual four activities, participants at Gold Award level must undertake a residential activity for five days away from home.

Activities can be undertaken concurrently, so each award can be obtained in the period required for the longest task. Participants are expected to do at least an hour a week in the sections, and need to arrange for an assessor for each section to sign a record book to confirm they meet the requirements for that section.

Principles

The Award, according to its key principles, is non-competitive, available to all, voluntary, flexible, balanced, progressive, achievement-focused, a marathon not a sprint, personal development, and enjoyable.

Other Countries

Asia Pacific

The National Award Authorities in the Asia Pacific Region are:

• Australia
• Fiji
• Hong Kong
• India
• Macau
• Malaysia
• New Zealand
• Pakistan
• Singapore
• Sri Lanka

Independent Operators:

• Bahrain
• Afghanistan
• Cambodia
• China
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Mongolia
• Niue
• Nepal
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Vietnam

The Americas

The National Award Authorities in the Americas Region are:

• Antigua & Barbuda
• Canada
• Cayman Islands
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Bermuda
• Dominica
• Falkland Islands
• Grenada
• Guyana
• Jamaica
• Montserrat
• St Lucia
• St Vincent
• Trinidad & Tobago

The Independent Operators in the Americas operate in:

• Argentina
• Brazil
• British Virgin Islands
• Costa Rica
• Turks & Caicos
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Texas, USA

50th anniversary

During 2006 the Award Scheme celebrated 50 years of existence. This anniversary was celebrated by a number of events. The most notable of which was a joint festival called the Cornbury Festival which took place at Charlbury, Oxfordshire during the weekend of July 8–July 9 2006.

References

1. ^ History of the Award

Wikipedia information about The Duke of Edinburgh's Award This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Duke of Edinburgh's Award". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.