Duke of Edinburgh & GoBeyond Awards

Go Beyond

Go Beyond is our bespoke personal development programme for pupils in Year 7. Pupils complete three sections to achieve their award.

Community Pupils take part in a range of activities to make a positive impact in our local community while gaining valuable life skills. 

Challenge We challenge pupils to stay away from home on an organised residential activity. There are many opportunities to get involved with throughout yYeare 7 to suit everyone.

Commitment Over a number of weeks, pupils commit to learning a new skill. There are many clubs at school that they can join to complete this section, or they can work towards this independently. 

Go Further  is our bespoke personal development programme for pupils in Year 8. Building on what they have achieved in Year 7, we ask them to work towards the same sections, furthering their skills, commitment and level of challenge. 

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) award is a life changing experience. It empowers young people, supporting them as they learn new skills, overcome obstacles and build confidence and resilience. At Kings Academy Bay House we deliver Bronze in year 9, Silver in year 10 and Gold DofE in Sixth Form.

Welcome to DofE

Participants have to complete four sections (five at Gold level) 

  • Volunteering – inspires young people to make a meaningful contribution within their communities, influence change and shape the work they want to live in.
  • Physical – young people aim to achieve greater physical fitness in an activity of their choice, resulting in a healthy lifestyle. 
  • Skills – aims to develop practical and social skills, personal interests and bridges the gap between education and employment. 
  • Expedition – develops initiative and a spirit of adventure and discovery by planning, training for and completing an adventurous self-sufficient journey as part of a team. 
  • Residential – challenges participants to spend 4 nights away from home in a shared activity with people they don’t know. (Gold only)

Timescales

Bronze

Silver

Gold

Gold Award Presentations

Every young person who achieves their Gold Award is invited to attend a Gold Award celebration event at a Royal Palace, attended by a Member of The Royal Family. Achieving a Gold Award is a big deal so, it’s only right you get a proper celebration of your outstanding achievements.

Gold Award Celebration Event 2024: the highlights

If you want to find out how to enrol, please email dofe@kgabayhouse.uk

Please note that we accept applications in the Autumn Term only. 

If your child is currently enrolled on the DofE programme the below links may be useful. 

eDofE – online platform for collating evidence for your award: www.edofe.org If your child has forgotten their username/login or is having difficulty in accessing their account, please contact dofe@kgabayhouse.uk 

Programme Ideas

Expedition Information

We use an external provider BXM Expeditions to support in facilitating our expeditions. Although our locations may change each year; our expeditions generally take place in the following locations during the spring and summer term:

  • Bronze: South Downs
  • Silver: Surrey Hills
  • Gold: Snowdonia

Please find some links to useful information on their website

Advice for parents: https://www.bxmoutdoors.com/advice-for-parents/

Food advice: https://www.bxmoutdoors.com/food-advice/ 

Basic training information: https://www.bxmoutdoors.com/dofe-basic-training/ 

BXM learning platform: https://bxmlearning.co.uk 

The expedition kit list can be found here: https://www.bxmoutdoors.com/kitlist/ 

If you have any questions for them please feel free to contact them directly at parents@bxmoutdoors.com 

Student Quotes

When looking back on my experience of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, it’s hard to think about the type of person I would be now if I hadn’t made the decision to do it. Of course the experience is one that will strengthen your CV with all of the transferrable skills you develop such as teamwork, resilience, leadership, the list goes on, but what made the experience all but worth it is how it has changed me as an individual.

From being someone at the start who was overcome with nerves at the thought of being away from home, to someone driving an hour and a half away from all home comforts to complete a week long camp for my residential section not knowing a single person there, it’s safe to say I am no longer the same person now as I was then. The experience has definitely taught me that we should get comfortable being uncomfortable – it is only then that we truly develop ourselves and realise our true potential.

Having completed my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award, it was an absolute honour and truly a once in a lifetime opportunity to be invited into the Buckingham Palace gardens to celebrate my achievement along with thousands of other people. I am proud to say I am a Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award holder and it is an experience I will never forget.

Nathan Popplewell

DofE has provided me with some amazing opportunities that I never thought I would do. Last summer I climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, which was an incredible experience. Nowadays, jobs don’t just look at your A-levels or what degree you get but also what you’ve done outside of education. That’s how you’ll separate yourself from other candidates going for the same job. The DofE is a perfect opportunity to enhance your portfolio of skills and experiences. I would like to thank Bay House Sixth Form for providing this opportunity, supporting myself and everyone else that also undertook the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Ethan Hammond

Please go to www.dofe.org for more information.

For further information or information about how to apply please contact Miss L Northcott, DofE Manager: dofe@kgabayhouse.uk.