The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award will be a central part of the extracurricular offer here at PA High Sixth Form. The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is a personalised and non-competitive achievement programme for young people which was started in 1956 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Students begin their Gold Award in Year 12 and complete it with their Qualifying expedition after their exams in the summer of Year 13.

The programme aims to teach essential skills and attributes for work and life, such as resilience, problem-solving, team-working, communication and drive, enhancing CVS and university and job applications. It is also a recognised mark of achievement, respected by employers. The DofE is many things to many people, supporting generations to successfully navigate life.

Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of “soft skills” that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Your DofE Award is a fantastic way to demonstrate and evidence these skills in practice.

There are five sections which make up a Gold award:

• Volunteering
• Physical
• Skill
• Expedition
• Residential