DofE
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) been running since 1957 and has continued to grow ever since. The DofE is offered world-wide and in now an internationally recognised brand. It provides an enjoyable, non-competitive, challenging and rewarding programme of personal development. There are three Awards: Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
The DofE at Bancroft’s
“Bancroft’s understand the value of DofE to its students and how it perfectly complements academic attainment and raises level of achievement.”
London Regional Director, DofE
Bancroft’s is in the prestigious position of being its own Directly Licensed Centre (DLC), one of the largest and most successful in the London region. We have offered the DofE since 1976. All pupils from the Lower Fourth (Year 9) upwards can participate in the DofE scheme. The Award runs alongside all other co-curricular activities, including CCF, sport and music. On average over 200 pupils at Bancroft’s are involved in DofE each year, with an annual average pass rate of well over 80% across the three levels of the Award.
Skills, Physical and Volunteering Sections
All sections can be completed as part of the School co-curriculum programme at lunch times, after school and at weekends. To get the most from each section, however, pupils are encouraged to look for opportunities outside of School. This is especially the case for the volunteering section.
Expedition Section
Bancroft’s School runs all aspects of the expedition section, from introductory training in Epping Forest through to Gold Assessment in Snowdonia. All expeditions are planned and supervised by school staff with considerable mountain experience and nationally recognised qualifications. Practice and qualifying expeditions take place during school holiday periods between March and October each year. Venues include Epping Forest, the Peak District, the Black Mountains and Snowdonia.
“One of the achievements of which I am most proud, is completing my Gold DofE expedition. I can safely say it is the toughest thing I have ever done, but equally the most rewarding, allowing me to form very close bonds with the girls and teachers with whom I shared the experience.”
Lindsey, Gold DofE holder
