Launched over 70 years ago, the Duke of Edinburgh's Award is the World's largest youth achievement award.
Over 8 million students have participated in the Award, from over 130 countries, meaning it is well recognised by universities and employers, and Award holders will stand out from the crowd.
Its importance runs much deeper than a tool to enhance a CV however. The Award requires participants to willingly take on a challenge, be self organised, be self disciplined, work well in teams, volunteer their time, and understand how to handle themselves when they are out of their comfort zones. It is skills such as these which make the Award life-changing.
The Award is now in its 3rd year at Edron, and over 60 students have already participated. These students have gone on amazing adventures around Mexico as part of the Adventurous Journey section, have made positive impacts in their communities as part of the Voluntary Service, and have pursued new activities in the Skills and Physical Recreation sections.
We offer all three levels of the Award, Bronze for students 14 and older, Silver for students 15 and older and Gold for year 12 students.
The framework for each level is similar, with 4 sections which must be completed. One of these sections must be a “major”, which the students can elect. The “major” for Bronze is 6 months, for Silver it is 12 months, and Gold it is 18 months. For students who have completed the previous level of the Award, no major is required.
Voluntary Service
For this section participants are required to give service (volunteer) 1 hour per week. This enables them to experience the benefits that their Voluntary Service provides to others in their community.
3 months for Bronze
6 months for Silver
12 months for Gold
Examples of Voluntary Service:
Physical Recreation
The Physical Recreation section of the Award encourages young people to participate in sport and other physical recreation for the improvement of health, fitness and wellbeing, 1 hour per week.
Encouraging healthy behaviours has benefits for participants and also for their communities, whether through improved health, or active participation in team activities. This section specifically aims to improve the team skills, self-esteem and confidence of participants, which in turn can help improve both their physical and mental health.
3 months for Bronze
6 months for Silver
12 months for Gold
Examples of Physical Recreation:
Skills
The Skills section of the Award encourages the development of personal interests, creativity or practical skills, 1 hour per week.
This section provides the opportunity for a participant to either improve on an existing skill, or to try something entirely new. As with the other sections, a level of commitment is required over time to progress a skill. It leads to a sense of achievement and well-being, and possibly improved employability through the development of life and vocational skills.
3 months for Bronze
6 months for Silver
12 months for Gold
Examples of Skills:
Adventurous Journey
The Adventurous Journey section encourages a sense of adventure and discovery while undertaking a team journey. As part of a small team, participants plan, train for and undertake a journey with a purpose in an unfamiliar environment. There is a Practice journey, where the students will undoubtedly make mistakes and learn from them, ready to excel during the Assessed journey.
The journeys must be a challenge. The aim of this section is to provide participants with the opportunity to learn more about the wider environment, as well as to develop their self-confidence, teamwork and health. Participants are taken out of their comfort zone but kept within a safe and secure setting, achieved through suitable training and supervision.
- The Bronze Adventurous Journey is two days and one night for both the Practice and Assessed journey. We hike in the Desierto de los Leones National Park.
- The Silver Adventurous Journey is three days and two nights for both the Practice and Assessed journey. We hike near Malinalco and Valle de Bravo.
- The Gold Adventurous Journey is four days and three nights for both the Practice and Assessed journey. We hike in the Desierto de los Leones National Park, and across the Sierra La Laguna in Baja California Sur.
Gold Residential Project
The Gold Residential Project, completed only at Gold level, aims to broaden participants’ horizons through involvement with others in a residential setting.
Participants have the opportunity to share a purposeful experience with people who are not their usual companions and work towards a common goal, set out by the participants themselves. Through the Gold Residential Project participants will meet new people, explore life in an unfamiliar environment, develop new skills and, hopefully, have a life changing experience.
Examples of Gold Residential Projects:
The activity should take place over a period of at least four nights and five consecutive days.
