Introduction

The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award is an internationally recognised accreditation scheme designed to promote and reward personal and social development in young people between the ages of 14 and 25. It is for everyone who likes a challenge.  The DofE mission is simple: ‘to inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development, and recognise their achievements’. As the Award Scheme’s aims complement those of the VCC, many VCC activities will qualify individual cadets and junior adult staff for elements of the Awards.

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The Award Scheme is voluntary and participants follow their chosen activities at their own pace with guidance from someone knowledgeable in each subject. Minimum standards of achievement are laid down and when these are met participants qualify for an Award.

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Award Scheme and Levels

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The DofE Award Scheme consists of three Awards; Bronze, Silver and Gold. 

The VCC will initially only support the Bronze and Silver Awards. In order to qualify a participant must successfully complete activities in 4 sections;

 

Volunteering, Skills, Physical and Expedition. The aims of each section are:

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• Volunteering: Get involved providing services to individuals or the community and make a difference to other people’s lives.

• Physical: Get active and improve your skills and fitness in sport, dance or other physical activities – it’s your choice.

• Skills: Find new interests and get new talents (or perfect existing ones), with increased practical and social skills.

• Expedition: Get outdoors and plan, train for and complete an adventurous journey in the UK or abroad – an unbeatable experience

A list of Programme Ideas can be found in the Useful Links at the bottom of this page.

 

Age requirements

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The age range for the Award is from 14th to 25th birthday; however, the minimum age ranges for each award are as follows:

• Bronze:           14 years (note. Year 9 students aged 13 can commence the award. See School_Ages_Flyer for more details.

• Silver:             15 Years (note: Cadets who have completed their Bronze Award and who are just under 15 may commence their Silver Award.)

All qualifying activities must be completed by a participant’s 25th birthday.

 

Overall Time requirements

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Participants are encouraged to work at their own pace, but it should be noted that the minimum periods of participation are:

 

The timescales must include the following:

   

As a rule of thumb, participants should aim to spend an average of one hour on each Section per week.

 

Qualifying VCC Service

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Cadets will be required to have completed Phase 2 training and be up to date with the payment of monthly Subs prior to being able to take part in the DofE Award Scheme through the VCC.

Adult instructors must have completed their probationary time and have served for at least 12 months, which can include previous time spent as a Cadet.

 

Awards and Recognition

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DofE Award Scheme certificates and badges will be presented to individual cadets at the Termly Parade. Successful cadets will also be presented with DofE badges which can be worn on both No.1 and MTP uniform to recognise their individual achievement.

 

Summary

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It’s not a walk in the park. You’ll get your DofE Award through persistence and commitment – but as a Royal Marines Cadet you’ll already know all about that. Over time you’ll develop personally and welcome each new challenge.

An individual who has successfully completed their Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award has had to demonstrate motivation, self-reliance, commitment and determination against an internationally recognised standard. At the end of it all you’ll have the world’s leading achievement award for young people under your belt, recognised by colleges, universities and employers alike.

But there’s one person who’ll truly appreciate that achievement the most – you!

 

Additional Links:

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DofE Website: http://www.dofe.org/

eDofE Web-portal: http://www.edofe.org

Programme List: Programme Section Ideas – Complete

Latest DofE Magazine: DofE Magazine

DofE Skills for Work: Skills for Work 

VCC DofE Application Form: DofE Award enrolment form.

VCC DofE Kit Request Form: DofE Candidate Kit Request(1).

Portsmouth VCC Twitter Feed: @VCCPortsDofE

Contact Email: vcc.ports.dofe@royalnavymail.mod.uk