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Duke of Edinburgh Award

What is DofE?

Here at OWS, we are delighted to offer students the opportunity to complete their Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards. The Awards give students the opportunity to try new activities, develop key life skills, improve their confidence and support their local community. By allowing participants to demonstrate traits such as resilience, creativity, teamwork and courage, the DofE Award acts as a symbol of a young person’s strengths beyond the curriculum and thus is recognised by employers, colleges and universities as a prestigious qualification.

The DofE is run separately to the school curriculum, by a small team of dedicated staff. The DofE is currently managed by Miss Ransom and coordinated by Mrs Waldron.

What to do we offer at OWS?

We are proud to be able to offer Year 9 students the chance to complete their Bronze Award here at OWS, whilst Yr10 students can complete the Silver Award. On average, both the Bronze and Silver take one academic year to complete. Participants can then go on to complete the Gold Award at sixth form college or university.

A large proportion of the Award is participant led, meaning that it is completed independently by students with support and guidance from DofE staff. The expedition section is organised and run by DofE staff, and supported by OWS.

Expeditions for the Bronze award are run through school, allowing students to complete this section supported by trained teachers and volunteer school staff. This also allows us to offer the award for a competitively low price. Expeditions for the Silver award are supported by an external approved activity provider, Chase Training Solutions. They offer expert support and guidance when travelling across more challenging terrain, allowing students to push themselves further than at Bronze level

Notices and Updates

(Last updated 16th January 2023)

  • Year 11 Silver have all completed their awards! Well done! All students have been presented with Certificate and ties. Badges are on order.
  • Unfortunately, due to low student numbers, we are no longer running the Silver expeditions for Yr10 this year. We are still encouraging students to complete their volunteering, physical and skills sections so we can award them Silver Certificates of Achievement. Full refunds for the expedition section are being processed (this does not include the deposit payment).
  • All Year 9/10 Bronze students should be continuing with their physical, skills and volunteering sections independently for about an hour each week. Gather evidence e.g. written or photographs of your progress. Make sure you ask assessors to complete assessors reports once you have finished each section!
  • Training for Yr9/10 Bronze expeditions will start in the spring term for four consecutive Tuesdays starting 17th January 2023.
  • Proposed dates for the Yr9/10 expeditions are 19th-20th May 2023 and 9th-10th June 2023. These will be confirmed soon and students will allocated to attend one of these expedition dates.
  • Yr9/10 Bronze payment 2 was due January 13th 2023, please ensure this payment is completed ASAP.

Bronze Information

Silver Information

Access Calendar

Access Gallery

Awards Evening 2021/2022

Visit the DofE Website

What do we look for in DofE participants?

The DofE Awards are inclusive and flexible, meaning that every student is eligible to take part regardless of academic or physical ability. The DofE can be adapted to suit every personality and physicality, so please speak to DofE staff if before enrolment if you have a concern or question.

However, to give students the best chance of completing the Award, we look for participants to have the following qualities:

  • Time management and punctuality
  • Self-motivation
  • Willingness to work in a team
  • A positive attitude
  • Self-reflection

When applying, students and parents will be asked to sign an agreement in regard to expectations whilst completing the DofE Award. These are in line with the OWS Code of Conduct. Any participants who challenge these expectations, may be asked to complete their Award with another licenced organisation.

Students who have a high number of behaviour points in relation to poor effort, HL or attitude should consider carefully whether they are willing to put in the time and effort needed to complete the Award, and there may be conversations between DofE staff and students about suitability before enrolment.

Questions or queries?

The DofE is run separately to the school curriculum. Information and questions linked to the DofE should be directed to Miss Ransom (Tegan.ransom@oldburywells.com) or Mrs Waldron (alice.waldron@oldburywells.com). PLEASE NOTE: Heads of year and pastoral staff are not involved in the management of the DofE programme.

You can find even more information about the DofE on their website www.dofe.org.