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Important Dates (23/24)
Important Dates (23/24)
Training – Saturday 9th March 2024 - Training day held at UCS. An introduction to expedition skills and preparation for the practice expedition. Attendance is compulsory before attending the practice expedition.
1st – 5th July 2024 – Practice Expedition. 5 days - 4 nights. Further training in expedition skills before putting them into practice on an expedition. Attendance is compulsory and supervising staff must be satisfied that participants have the skills and maturity to allow participants to progress to the assessed expedition. This will likely take place in the Peak District.
19th – 23rd August 2024 – Assessed Expedition. Participants undertake a 5-day and 4-nights unaided expedition in order to qualify for their gold award. This expedition is remotely supervised by qualified staff. This will likely take place in Snowdonia.
Overview of Gold Award
Overview of Gold Award
DofE-Gold-recruitment-presentation-short.pdf
Note: Any student who has not completed silver is a 'direct entrant'.
Participants are responsible for sourcing and organising their own volunteering, physical activity, skill, and residential, 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 their 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. It may be possible for some to volunteer in school.
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.
Residential: This can be any activity where the participant is away from home and their parents for at least 5 days and 4 nights, meeting and working with people they do not know. Examples may be doing a residential language course or volunteering on a conservation project.
The last section, the expedition, will be run through the school. Further information is given below.
Each activity requires the supervision of an appropriate adult. We ask parents to use their discretion in helping their son or daughter identify an appropriate supervisor for each activity.
Expedition Phase
Expedition Phase
The expedition section is often one of the most exciting aspects of a DofE Award. Participants will form expedition teams in school, and are given a programme of training and practice in expedition skills before progressing onto an assessed expedition. The assessed expedition, and some of the practice, is remotely supervised so that the participants are navigating, cooking and camping, by themselves without outside help. Adult supervisors and assessors will be close by to safeguard and assess participants, but in order to pass their assessment participants must complete the assessed expedition self-sufficiently and unaided. This is easily achievable if participants engage with and take on board their training and advice from instructors, but we will make no apologies for deferring (this allows participants to attempt another assessment) any team or individual if they cannot or do not reach the required standard. The standard required is high, and includes ensuring all kit and equipment is returned in good and clean condition at the end of the expedition. Participants must also complete a short project based on their expedition.
The Gold expedition programme this year will be run by Mountainwise, an approved DofE expedition provider. mountainwise.co.uk/
Please note as the Gold award promotes independence, members of UCS staff will not be present on the expeditions and it will be up to the student to arrange transport to the locations of the training and expeditions.
Residential Section
Residential Section
At Gold level, in order to achieve your award you need to complete an extra section – a residential.
A ‘residential’ for Gold DofE means a programme that spends 5 days and 4 nights away from home on a shared activity with people that you have never met before.
Your residential can have any focus or include any activities that you wish, as long as it meets the above criteria. It’s therefore a great way to spend time doing something that you’re interested in and meet like-minded people.
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