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Volunteering at Scouts is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing to help us reach more young people

Volunteering is changing at Scouts. Read more

Discover what this means

What's the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE)?

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is an awards programme which gives young people the chance to make friends, have fun and build confidence in an empowering, exciting and non-competitive learning environment.It's delivered by a number of licensed providers across the UK and Scouts is one of the biggest.

What do you get from it?

By taking part, young people build on a huge range of practical and character skills – like resilience, problem-solving, team-working and drive – and come out the other side with a stronger sense of self. It's something really brilliant to put on their CV, or to talk about in their university and job applications.

What does it involve?

Young people build their own custom DofE programme: choosing from a range of skills-based challenges, physical activities, volunteering opportunities and expeditions to suit their interests and goals. As part of their Gold Award, they also take part in a residential activity.

How does it link to the Scout programme?

Scouts can complete their DofE while they're in Explorers or Network, linking their achievements to the Chief Scout’s Platinum, Diamond and King’s Scout Awards, as well as the Young Leaders' Scheme.

How old do you need to be?

At Scouts, DofE is a part of our Explorer and Network programme, so members must be 13.5 years old to start working on their awards.

Subject to this minimum age, you can start the Bronze and Silver award in the school year you turn 14 and 15 respectively.

Gold has a minimum age of 16. All activities must be completed by a young person's 25th birthday. 

A good place to get started

Whether you're looking to take part in the award as a participant or run it as a leader, here, you'll find everything you need to know about the different sections of the awards with some hints and tips along the way.

Learn about the different sections of the award >

To watch in full screen, double click the video

DofE as a County Adviser

Everything you need as a County DofE Adviser including role responsibilities, forms and advice.

County DofE Advisers

Other volunteer roles supporting DofE

DofE volunteers help build young people up, so they can be the best they can be. Discover the volunteering opportunities and the training requirements