What will it be to you? 

Liverpool Hope is a the only university in Merseyside running DofE as a Licensed Organisation, meaning we are able to provide staff to support students to complete their awards. We can offer bronze, silver and gold awards as long as we have enough participants to run a group. 

How does it work? 

Each DofE award is made up of activity sections. You complete a chosen activity in the relevant section for a certain period of time, then get your assessor to sign off what you've done and that section is finished. The sections are: 

Volunteering - giving your time for free 
Skill - learning a new skill or developing an existing one
Physical - doing something that significantly raises your heart rate
Expedition - exploring an area without the aid of modern conveniences 
Residential (Gold only) - staying away from home with people you don't know.

Timescales

Any level of DofE Award can make your CV stand out but did you know it's possible to complete all three while you're at university? 

Bronze award

You'll need to complete at least 3 months in all sections and 6 months in one section of your choice. 

Silver award 

You'll need to choose to do an extra 3 months in either the Skills or Physical section. If you've not done DofE before you'll also need to do an extra 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Skills/Physical section.

Gold award

You'll need to choose to do an extra 6 months in either the Skills or Physical section. If you've not done DofE before you'll also need to do an extra 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Skills/Physical section

Whichever award you choose to do, you must have completed it before your 25th birthday. This may prevent some students from starting the Gold award, especially if they're direct entries. We can support students with their activities after graduation. 

Expedition and Residentials  

We are currently working with the team at Plas Caerdeon, our outdoors centre, to create a suitable expedition for Gold candidates. 

The residential section is unique to the Gold award, this is a 5 day/4 night experience away from home. We have links to a number of organisations who provide these so can help students source an opportunity. 

Costs

The upfront cost for the award is a sign up fee of £30 for registration and administration of the award which goes solely to The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

There will be additional costs depending on the activities you choose to participate in but the award can easily be made affordable. If you feel that costs will be a barrier to you participating please speak to the DofE team for more information. You can email us at dukeofed@hope.ac.uk.