If you think that an Access to HE Diploma is the ideal path for you, have a look at this helpful website. Is DofE good for CV? Are you still using the skills you gained during your DofE programme? This is one of the best decisions I have ever made; the skills I gained at the stables are adaptable to other animals and my studies, and the course has given me so many opportunities I would not have had if I had not applied to university or taken up my offer. Many employers will recognise the achievement of a DofE and the hard word that it represents. It consists of a number of parts, which are: If youd like to find out more about the Skills Challenge Certificate, take a look at this page about the Welsh Baccalaureate, which explains how the qualification works. If yes, then the DofE could be a useful tool to display non-academic achievements in a UCAS university personal statement as well as being a beneficial experience overall. Available subjects are broadly similar to A-level subject choices, with a few that are different to the standard A-level subjects, including Classical Heritage, Comparative Government and Politics, and Economics. If you are living in Wales, a great way to earn some more UCAS Points is by completing some Essential Skills courses, to develop your employability skills. Residentials are a great way to explore creative outlets and learn new skills e.g., taking part in a jewellery making course or trying a new sport. You must be at least 14 years old to start the Bronze award, 15 for Silver and 16 for Gold. 0. Many young people obtain their Bronze DofE award before progressing onto Silver and Gold awards, but teenagers can dive straight into their Gold award if they are 16 years old or over. In a similar way to A-Levels, you will have a broader range of subjects that you can continue with at degree level. Report. Rather, as we discussed in our piece on the school clubs that look good to universities, its much more about what you do with it. With an emphasis on personal development and practical experience, it is no surprise that many young people take up the DofE to help boost university applications and CVs with something more than academic achievements. ), which details how you accomplished your aims. There are lots of organisations in the UK who are licensed to run the DofE. Pre-U Qualifications can be taken in 24 different subjects, and you can do a combination of Pre-U Qualifications and A-Levels for your 3 subjects of choice. Check out my post Use DofE to make your CV and Personal Statement shine for the full rundown. If you arent sure which subjects work well when combined, take a look at this useful article which lists some good A-Level combinations. Some Universities may also have their own specific systems of UCAS Points, where they only accept a certain number for extra activities, or they dont count them in their offer totals at all. And, as you can imagine, the more hours are put in, the higher the number of UCAS Points earned is. How to Teach Your Kids Times Tables + Free Times Table Chart! One of the best things about the Duke of Edinburgh Award is that the residential section is really flexible. DOFE gives you ucas points. I have also gained more understanding of others, as during my Residential I worked at a respite holiday care home for people with disabilities which helped me to become more aware of others in need. Depending on the chosen programme you can stay in our purpose-built residential centre with dormitory accommodation or in our tented village. They equate to half of an A-Level, as you only complete the first year of the course. These include volunteering, physical activity, skills, expedition and a residential. The Best Free Homeschooling Resources UK Parents Need to Start Using Today. They will also usually only be counted towards specific courses, e.g. again it doesnt harm your application but for oxbridge i dont think it has any impact really (apart from showing you do other things apart from work). In a similar way to Music Formal Exams, you can earn UCAS Points from Grades 6-8. There are plenty of programmes that can count towards your Gold DofE residential. There are no scores or grades, participants either pass or not. The DofE, if embraced, really does give a well-rounded boost to a young persons skill set. Would they be interested in the fact that you volunteered during senior school? UCL emailed about my grade 4 in GCSE maths, please help. Required fields are marked *. Apprenticeships are a great way to get qualified while also earning a wage. An Extended Project Qualification (or EPQ) is a great way of adding to your UCAS Points. In order to earn UCAS Points for volunteering, you could complete either a NOCN Diploma or Award in International Volunteering. The maximum age to complete the DofE Awards is 25 years old. 12657283. ASDAN offer community-based courses that can get you plenty of extra UCAS points, such as the CoPE (16 UCAS points) and Wider Key Skills (3 different qualifications available, 8 points each). Leave a rating. More information about this certificate can be found here. In this article, we look at the different ways in which you can raise your number of UCAS points to help the results part of your university application stand out from the crowd. You'll likely want to focus the first 80% of your personal statement on your specific course and why you want to study it. If music or drama arent quite your thing, but youre still inclined towards the performing arts, you might be interested to know that you can gain extra UCAS points through dancing. To help you with your planning, weve created a helpful guide containing a list of frequently asked Gold DofE questions. A full degree would usually require 360 points: 120 at stage 1 (equivalent to the first year of a degree at a conventional university), 120 at stage 2 and 120 at stage 3. However, you should remember that Volunteering is not only beneficial in terms of UCAS Points so it is still worth considering it as an option to broaden your skills. Debate with GF/BF: TSR votes will decide! Not at all, by all means do it if you have the time, but your exam results are far more important. music exams towards music, BHS exams towards animal related courses and so on. Our systems have detected unusual traffic from your computer network. Every young person can enter the award program. For example, you may want to do a diploma in Fashion, or Fitness Instructing and Personal Training. All A Levels come with UCAS points, the maximum number for one being 56 and that would require an A* grade. This means that if you wanted to take a BTEC at Sixth Form, you would need to be more certain of the career path you wanted to take earlier on. How many UCAS points do you need for Oxford? You can earn UCAS Points from Grade 6 Grade 8, in both instrumental and music theory exams. BUT it may be beneficial when looking for your first job after university. With the UCAS application process now open for 2020 entry to universities and colleges, Kira Jarvis, one of our Gold Award holders, shares her personal experience and advice on using your DofE experience to enhance your submission. Gold demands four days and three nights, with eight hours. 806 8067 22 Registered Office: Imperial House, 2nd Floor, 40-42 Queens Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3XB, Taking a break or withdrawing from your course, http://www.dofe.org/en/content/cms/about-us/our-impact/, Official UCL 2023 Undergraduate Applicants Thread. Writing about the course. There are some circumstances where it is acceptable to know one or two other people, but the majority of the residential group should be unknown. There are age restrictions for each level of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. If you have done your Silver or Gold DofE, mention the skills, physical and volunteering sections too, as they indicate that you will follow commitments through even if it takes up your time which you may need for other activities. Students can take 3-4 of their courses at Higher Level (which comprises of around 240 teaching hours) and the remaining subjects at Standard Level (which is made up of around 150 hours of teaching). Participating in DofE can help you demonstrate that you possess the skills needed to excel in further education or your chosen career. The reason why it is technically called an adventurous journey is because it is not required for you to walk. All apprentices earn a specific minimum wage (details of which can be found here). When it is this popular among young people, you can assume that many of your fellow university applicants are going to have done the award too. Along with the practical skills such qualifications instil, they also teach you the ability to work well with others a useful skill to be able to talk about in job applications and interviews. For those looking to demonstrate an extremely high level of English language ability, the Certificate of Proficiency in English gains you up to 140 UCAS points and improves your English for employment and academic purposes. . For Silver this goes up to a minimum of 7 hours per day, and for Gold a minimum of 8 hours planned activity per day before setting up camp for the night. Benefits of DofE - The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Benefits to young people When your child does their DofE programme they'll develop the skills and attitudes they need to become more rounded, confident adults. The test includes reading, writing, listening and speaking elements. It is designed to foster interests and improve skills that can be drawn upon into adulthood. Sure, it matters that you did something outside of the mainstream school system. You must decide on an aim as part of your DofE Gold expedition to give purpose to your walk. You may also want to start taking the exams, if you already have a high level of skill in playing an instrument. Remember, DofE has over 400,000 entrants every year. 2022 GCSE Grades Explained: All Your Questions Answered Here. To count towards your Gold DofE award the residential must be away from home and last for a minimum of 4 nights. The difference is that Pre-U Qualifications give students more of an opportunity to work independently, so that they are more prepared for University study. Cumulus Outdoors are based in Dorset and run Gold canoe and walking expeditions. Should You Avoid or Embrace Them? Doing my DofE also gave me the skills to adapt to the less structural way of life at university, allowed me to feel confident that I had made the right choice, and made me realise that, no matter what, there is no harm in applying for new opportunities, as you never know where or what they may lead to. UCAS and the DofE: My advice With the UCAS application process now open for 2020 entry to universities and colleges, Kira Jarvis, one of our Gold Award holders, shares her personal experience and advice on using your DofE experience to enhance your submission. It is also a qualification which is really valued by Universities as it demonstrates your individual study skills. They are one of the most challenging aspects as you are isolated from the outside world without mobiles or other devices. You might have been invited to a parents information evening about the DofE where the award is touted heavily as an asset to any UCAS application, however the Duke of Edinburgh Award UCAS application points breakdown looks like the following: Thats right, even with walking 14 Miles a day on the Gold DofE, UCAS points are not awarded (though a shiny Duke of Edinburgh gold medal is up for grabs). D of E Silver 0 UCAS points. . At the end of each level participants receive an award to recognise their achievements. Although the International Baccalaureate as a whole will not earn you any UCAS Points, each component of it will. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of so called soft skills that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Thats key stage 4. Making a Splash! Every effort has been made to keep costs down to ensure the DofE award is accessible to all. Wed say that a more appropriate description would be a Youth Award rather than a professional qualification. Is the Duke of Edinburgh award a professional qualification? Silver is for people aged 15 and above and should take 52 weeks. Duke of Edinburgh can make your look great on your uni application! This will vary depending on when and where you are completing your expedition. If you wish to report an article for misleading or false information, please click here. It comprises of 5 days of group activities and 4 consecutive nights sleeping away from home. The UCAS Points System can be confusing, and it is a useful thing to understand when applying to Universities. The most obvious place to get UCAS points is from A-levels, AS-levels, and T-levels. Though there are still a number of different ways to earn points which may suit you better. Plus, a DofE can also provide a good talking point in the interview, especially for a young person without much other work experience. The stakes are high because an answer other than of course! could shatter some of the most central beliefs held by young people across the UK. These are known as bronze, silver, and gold level. Do universities like Duke Edinburgh Award? 0 UCAS pointsD of E Bronze 0 UCAS points. Which parts of the UCAS application can you use your DofE experience in? Participants may also find that they enjoy the experience more than they expected and acquire new skills to write about in their UCAS personal statement too. Expedition participants must be unaccompanied and it needs to be completed without motorised transport. These programmes are based around speaking and drama, which may help you increase your confidence in speaking to large groups of people a skill which can be easily transferred to other scenarios in your life and which is likely to be extremely useful! Participants must work through these in turn and satisfy various criteria. The truth is that nobody misses out on a place at university because they did not complete a DofE, but if your child is looking for ways to add something extra to their application, a DofE achievement can be a good place to start. Many schools, colleges and universities deliver the DofE programme and this can be very convenient for students to integrate into their studies. For example, you might be leaning towards doing all humanities subjects at A-level, because thats whats going to give you the best chances of securing a place on a particular degree course; but you still want to be able to show potential employers that your knowledge of maths is higher than GCSE, as this will help you stand out a bit more. So, no, you cant just do the expedition. Suitable for aspiring actors and those who just enjoy performing, these qualifications develop your theatrical skills and enables you to get better at speaking clearly. Do you play a musical instrument? As weve seen, accumulating extra UCAS points can involve saddling yourself with even more academic work, but it doesnt have to: you can have fun with more vocational qualifications and pick up UCAS points in the process. Does your child already have a full schedule, with other extracurricular activities and relevant work experience to the university course theyd like to apply for? In my personal statement, I wrote about how my experience during the Skill and Physical sections had increased my confidence and improved my fitness and swimming speed; for my physical activity, I swam at a local swimming club and gained Personal Bests. The flexibility that the number of subjects you take gives you is one of the real benefits of taking Highers, especially if you arent sure what exactly you would like to do in the future. The DofE award is a program independent from school qualifications that young people choose to undertake. So, do universities care about the Duke of Edinburgh? You can also use the DofE if you get invited for an interview. It can be taken alongside GCSEs or A-Levels. These are the sorts of questions that you are going to have to ask yourself in relation to your DofE. The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, presents the award but thats about the only role he has in the whole thing. He able to get offer from KcL, durman, and imperial. There are 3 levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold) and a number of sections to complete. It does not serve any purpose on your UCAS form beyond the personal statement, where you are entitled to push it hard. Of course, they would! Usually, you get much less freedom to decide where you are going and when than this suggests. They are offered by Sixth Forms, and allow you to choose which subjects you want to study moving forward. Your gold award in DofE isnt a golden ticket to any higher education institution that you fancy.