Duke Of Edinburgh Award
The award is a programme of activities for you to do in your spare time. There are three Awards to try for: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Gold takes the longest to do and is the hardest one to try for - usually, people start with the Bronze award and work up through the others.
There are four sections for each award (with one extra for Gold.) You simply have to choose one activity under each of these headings, and do it for a set length of time:
Service: Be a local hero - help the community, the environment or even train to save a life...
Skills: Do something different; whether you fancy yourself as a fine artist or a trapeze artist, the award has something that will suit you...
Physical Recreation: Could you be the next Beckham? Or Anna Kournikova? Virtually any sport, dance or fitness activity can count...
Expedition: Go on an expedition and find yourself. Train, plan and complete an adventurous journey in the countryside on foot, horseback, boat or cycle...
Residential Project: Work as a team on a conservation, service or activity-based project for five days (this is for Gold Award Participants only).
It takes at least 6 months to do the Bronze Award. If you then go on to do Silver, this will also take 6 months. Once you have your Silver award it will only take 12 months to complete the Gold Award. If you jump straight in at the different levels they will take a bit longer to complete; Silver - 12 months and Gold 18 months.
- If you're 14 (or very nearly 14), you can do the Bronze Award.
- If you're 15, you can do the Bronze or Silver Awards.
- If you're 16 or over, you can do the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards.
Just remember, all Awards must be completed by the time you're 25
You can work on all of the Sections at the same time (but one activity cannot count for two Sections!).
It's fun, challenging and different... so go on, take the challenge!
For more information, check out the official website at www.theaward.org.
Bronze Award
Cost - £11 (But the ATC will subsidise this)
This award takes 6 months to complete. You need to be at least 14 to begin the Bronze award and at least 14 1/2 years before completion.
| Section | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Service | 3 Months | One of these should have a further 3 months |
| Skill | 3 Months | |
| Sport | 3 Months | |
| Expedition | 2 Days, 1 Night |
By walking through the squadron doors twice a week and actively participating in squadron activities, you can qualify for the service section of the bronze award.
The skill section can be attained by completing a course in rifle shooting and showing improvement through gaining the ATC marksman. Attending regular ATC lessons and participating in the annual exams is also enough to complete this section.
The squadron organises regular physical exercise evenings. Attendance and improvement throughout the course of these sessions will complete this section.
The expedition section of the award consists of 2 days and a night camping where you are completely self-sufficient. You will carry your tent, food and other kit in an expedition rucksack over 15 miles in the two days. You need to participate in at least one practise before embarking on a qualifying expedition. During this weekend, you will learn to read maps and use a compass, as well other skills such as cooking your dinner on a gas stove and pitching a tent.
The final part of the award that needs to be completed is a presentation about your expedition.
Once all these sections are signed off the cadet is eligible for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award.
Silver Award
Cost - £11 (But the ATC will subsidise this)
This award takes 6 months to complete if you already have your bronze award. If you are a direct entrant it will take 12 months to complete. You need to be at least 15 to begin the Silver award and at least 15 ? years before completion.
| Section | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Service | 3 Months | If a direct entrant, the service or the longer of the other two needs a further 6 months |
| Skill | 3 Months | |
| Sport | 3 Months | |
| Expedition | 2 Days, 1 Night |
The service section of the award can be completed through actively participating as an NCO at the squadron and in other ATC activities.
The skill section can be attained by completing a course in rifle shooting and showing improvement through gaining the ATC marksman. Attending regular ATC lessons and participating in the annual exams is also enough to complete this section.
The squadron organises regular physical exercise evenings. Attendance and improvement throughout the course of these sessions will complete this section.
The expedition section of the award consists of 3 days and 2 nights camping where you are completely self-sufficient. You will carry your tent, food and other kit in an expedition rucksack over 35 miles in the three days. You need to participate in at least one practise before embarking on a qualifying expedition. During this weekend, you will improve your skills such as map reading and compass work, as well other skills such as cooking your dinner on a gas stove and pitching a tent. For the Silver award, a fairly high level of knowledge and safety is expected.
The final part of the award that needs to be completed is a presentation about your expedition. This needs to be more substantial that a bronze presentation. It should involve a small amount of research and should be of an expedition related subject. It is useful to think of this before embarking on the expedition.
Once all these sections are signed off the cadet is eligible for their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award.
Gold Award
Cost - £16.50 (But the ATC will subsidise this)
This award takes 12 months to complete if you already have your Silver award. If you are a direct entrant it will take 18 months to complete. You need to be at least 16 to begin the Gold award and at least 17 before completion.
| Section | Time | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Service | 12 Months | If a direct entrant, the service or the longer of the other two needs a further 6 months |
| Skill | One section for 12 months, and the other for 3 months | |
| Sport | One section for 12 months, and the other for 3 months | |
| Expedition | 4 Days, 3 Night | |
| Residentual | 5 days, 4 nights |
The final part of the award that needs to be completed is a presentation about your expedition. This needs to be more substantial that the Silver presentation. It should involve a substantial amount of research and should be of an expedition related subject. It is useful to think of this before embarking on the expedition.
Once all these sections are signed off, you are eligible for the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.
by Kirsty Witchel