The Duke of Edinburgh's Award for schools

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award for schools

Essex County Council holds the licence to operate The Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Award in Essex. We deliver the award directly through four youth centres and supports over 70 schools in Essex with their DofE provision. Are you a young person - Start doing your DofE Award with us

The DofE Award is the world's leading youth achievement award for 14-24 year olds.

Bronze – for those aged 14+ years (or in the school year in which your peer group turn 14)

Silver – for those aged 15+ years (or in the school year in which your peer group turn 15)

Gold – for those aged 16+ years

More than 3,000 young people start their award in Essex each year. We are striving to grow this number year on year with your support.

Are you interested in setting up The DofE Award at your school?

Why work under our DofE Award licence?

You will be assigned to a member of our DofE team who will work with you closely to set-up the award, taking you through each step and helping you to iron out teething problems
We will support you to set-up your own expedition provision, or we will advise you on local Approved Activity Providers (AAP's)
Competitively priced versus schools being directed licenced with DofE
Be kept up-to-date - our team are available over the phone, email and we will send you termly newsletters
We will meet with you termly to discuss your progress, your training needs and to help identify new opportunities
Join us as a delegate on our Introduction to DofE courses for just £35 (outside of our licence, delegates pay £125).
Join us on our ECC Expedition Skills Course for new leaders for just £75 (outside of our licence, delegates pay £175)
If requested, we can set-up and run eDofE training for you and your leaders (no additional charge)
We print and despatch award certificates and badges, saving you the admin task
Attend our annual DofE Leaders Conference free of charge (outside of our licence, delegates pay £125)
Attend our annual DofE Gold Award Celebration at Chelmsford Cathedral for all Gold participants who complete the award under our licence
Gain equipment discount with Access Expeditions
Apply for our DofE bursary to support participation - which can save 30% off practice and qualifying expedition costs
Refer students to our annual DofE Funded Programme (free of charge for participants), which supports disadvantaged young people across the county. This is only open to those schools working under our licence
Request to borrow expedition equipment free of charge*, such as tents, roll mats, Trangia's and rucksacks. *Dependent on availability

Expedition Enquiries

Essex County Council can run or assist on DofE expedition as a supervisor and/or Assessor up to running bespoke expedition packages. If you would like to find out more please fill the 'Register your interest for Essex Expedition's' form

Training and Events

ECC Expedition Skills Course – for schools operating under our licence

Become accredited to supervise DofE bronze walking expeditions this season, without the need for a national walking qualification. This two day course combines training and assessment in one and is held locally in Essex. Completion of this course will allow you to supervise DofE bronze expeditions in Essex under the ECC DofE licence. To express interest in this course, contact us at: DofE@essex.gov.uk

The Next course is being run on the

2nd - 3rd March 2024

Expedition Skills Course bookings

Gold Award Presentation

Every year we organise and hold a prestigious award evening for Gold DofE achievers and their families. This is a fantastic opportunity for us to celebrate the successes and commitment of local people and is designed purely for those groups that completed their DofE programme through Essex County Council.

Find out more

Talk to us about The DofE Award! We'd love to hear from you. Contact us: DofE@essex.gov.uk