D of E Award Scheme

At Dean Close, we have a strong bond with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme (D of E).

The scheme has been offering life-changing opportunities to young people for over sixty years and we are proud of our part in that. 

D of E encourages young people to try new activities and recognises the ones that they are already doing. For the Bronze, Silver and Gold Award, students complete a physical / sport section, a skill section, a volunteering section and an expedition. Life is so full at Dean Close that in many cases students are already doing co-curricular activities that qualify for the physical and skill section. Many of these activities are provided outside of academic hours by the different Departments in School. 

Volunteering can be an amazing life experience and provide real enrichment to the recipients as well as the volunteers. Dean Close pupils offer their time in many forms of volunteering both within the Dean Close and wider community. 

The Expedition for many is the highlight of their D of E experience. Most expeditions at Bronze level are undertaken on foot. Students load up their rucksacks with everything they need for a two day adventure, they plan and buy their food, they plan their routes and they work together as a team to navigate to an overnight camp and the next day on to the finish point. For most students this is a truly unique experience where they are completely self-sufficient and away from adult supervision with a group of friends. 

By the time students reach Gold D of E their expeditions are in more remote countryside, four days long and potentially overseas. At Dean Close we organise expeditions on foot, by bike, in canoe or kayak and we are always open to supporting a group that comes up with an alternative mode of transport. 

Completing the Gold D of E is a genuine challenge and leaves pupils with a real sense of achievement, new skills, resilience, deeper friendships and, more often than not, increased ambition for bigger challenges in their future life.