The Duke of Edinburgh's Award - Overview

Since its conception over 50 years ago, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award has recognised individuals aged 14 to 25 for their outstanding personal achievements in various disciplines.

Physical & Mental Challenges

There are four areas that need to be completed before becoming eligible for the three awards on offer (Gold, Silver and Bronze): service, skills, physical recreation, and expeditions. Awards can be gained for good service to the community; for example, working with a charity (service), and showing good progress with a musical instrument (skills), to excelling at a sport or fitness (physical recreation) and showing physical and mental endurance in the outdoors (expeditions).

Group Expeditions

The most popular part of the award is taking part in an expedition. Expeditions can be undertaken in groups, with all members of the group eligible for an Award so long as all members complete the task. It is important that the expedition is planned and prepared for in advance with at least one trial run of similar difficulty taking place before the actual event. It is also normal that the expedition has a particular aim or purpose; for example, a nature project observing certain kinds of wildlife in the Lake District.