Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE)

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is popular and successful at Christ’s Hospital, and we offer it at all three levels: Bronze (UF/Year 10), Silver (GE/Year 9), and Gold (Years 12 & 13). Participants engage in a programme that involves four sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skill, and Expeditions. To participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, pupils engage in a wide array of activities, including Community Action and School Service, sports, music and more. At Gold level, participants complete a fifth, Residential Section.

At Bronze, expeditions and training take place in the countryside immediately surrounding Christ’s Hospital, and in the South Downs, on termly Field Days.

At Silver, expedition training takes place in the South Downs and the Surrey Hills. The Practice Expedition takes place at the beginning of the Easter holiday, in the Ashdown Forest, and the Qualifying Expedition is in the New Forest in the first week of the Summer holiday.

Gold takes place over two years, with Year 12s undertaking the Practice Expedition, and then going on to complete the Qualifying Expedition as Grecians. Both Gold expeditions take place at the beginning of the Easter holiday, alternating each year between Dartmoor and the Brecon Beacons.

  • Negotiation, consensus building, dispute resolution and diplomacy
  • Responsibility and independent learning
  • Cultural empathy and understanding alternative viewpoints
  • Research and the effective assimilation of information
  • Building relationships rapidly with students from other cultures and nationalities
  • Leadership, persuasion and influencing others
  • Confidence and self-reliance

Related content

Expeditionary Education

Find out more

Order our prospectus

Our School Prospectus provides an introduction to life at Christ’s Hospital. You can request a printed copy which includes an application form by completing the form and/or you can download a pdf of the prospectus.