The award is comprised of 4 sections. Each must be completed as indicated, with the volunteering, physical activity, and skill being undertaken for a minimum of one hour per week, each week, (there can be a small amount of flexibility on this, in order to account for things like holidays and exam periods).

Participants are responsible for sourcing and organising their own volunteering, physical activity, and skill, although they should check with us before beginning their section as we can advise on the suitability of their proposed activity, and ensure it fills the necessary criteria. In short:

Volunteering: This should be an activity where the participant is giving time and effort for a community or charitable cause, for which they receive no reward. A typical example might be to work in a charity shop, but we encourage participants to use their imagination.

Physical: This should be an activity which requires a sustained period of physical exertion. Typical examples would be sport, fitness training, or something like rock climbing.

Skill: The skill can be anything where participants can show progressive learning. Typical examples might be learning a musical instrument, or learning a language, it cannot be a sport.

The last section, the expedition, will be run through school, further information is given in the individual award sections.

Each activity requires the supervision of an appropriate adult. We ask parents to use their discretion in identifying an appropriate supervisor for each activity. If you would like further inspiration of activity ideas please see the document below for an extensive list of ideas: