Duke of Edinburgh

Who can take part in the Award?

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is available to all young people aged 14 to 24. It is voluntary, non-competitive, enjoyable, and requires sustained effort over time. The Award encourages young people to challenge themselves through a series of expeditions and projects. 

What is involved?

The Award framework consits of four sections and three age-appropriate levels. Participants complete all four sections at each level in order to achieve their Award. At Gold level, participants also complete a Residential Project.

• Bronze Award for those over 14 years old
• Silver Award for those over 15 years old
• Gold Award for those over 16 years old

The four main sections of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award are:

• Skill section – Young people must spend at least one hour per week learning a new life skill (outside of school lessons). There are hundreds of different activities that young people can choose from. Popular choices include music, art, drama, cooking, debating, learning to drive and sign language.
• Service section – This section requires young people to spend at least one hour per week doing voluntary work. This gives young people the opportunity to get out into their communities and give something back
• Physical Recreation section – This section requires young people to spend at least one hour per week of their own time engaging in physical recreation. It can be any form of activity and does not need to be in a team or competitive environment.
• Adventurous Journey section – Through this section, young people discover a spirit of adventure and gain a deeper understanding of the environment and the great outdoors.

Skill, Service and Physical Sections can be done either 1 hour a week, 2 hours every 2 weeks or 4 hours every month. The Award board requires to see a regular pattern, as this indicates more habitual behaviour.

• Residential section – Participants take part in this section as part of their Gold Award level. It gives them a chance to broaden their experience by staying in a new environment taking part in a worthwhile project with other people.

At Gold level only there is one additional requirement, which consists of the Residential Project.