Doing my DofE with Girlguiding!

You might have heard of DofE through school or your friends, but if you weren't listening too intently or haven't heard of it at all, I'll give you a quick run down and hopefully show you why you might want to get involved with the DofE through Girlguiding!

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE for short) is a voluntary and free programme of activities for anyone aged 14 to 24. There are three different levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold, which you can complete in order or as standalone awards. Each level contains four different sections: volunteering, physical, skills development and an expedition. The Gold level also contains a residential section.

It may sound like a lot, but don't worry! Once you think it through, you will probably find you're already doing lots of things that can count towards the Award, especially as you're involved with Girlguiding. Girlguiding works with DofE to help you complete the award through guiding, too, so it couldn't be easier to get involved!

The challenge is what it says on the tin: a challenge. But that shouldn't scare you! You can take it at your own pace and ability. The DofE is recognised very highly by employers and shows a real mark of personal development and achievement.

Okay, Kate, you've convinced me! But what sort of things can I do to complete the award?

For the volunteering section, this is pretty easy in Girlguiding - you can volunteer as a young leader or adult leader at any unit, something I'm sure lots of you already do! For some levels of the award, a certain amount of hours needs to be dedicated to a specific project within this volunteering. This can be as simple as attending a camp or other event as a volunteer. If you don't already volunteer and would like to, get in contact with your local units. Your unit leader should be able to help you with this! In completing my volunteering sections, I volunteered at a Brownie unit for my Silver Award and a Guide unit for my Gold Award. For my specific project, I volunteered as a leader at Surrey Scoutabout.

For the physical section, you can take part in any sport or exercise you like! I did a pilates class, but you could play football, go to Zumba or join a netball team. Basically, anything that gets you active and your heart pumping may count! Once you're signed up, you can check the list of activities that count, and you can find out how to make this section accessible for you if you have specific requirements.

Your skills development can be even broader, ranging from developing your photography to playing an instrument to what I did: rifle shooting at targets! If you are interested in doing other awards in Girlguiding, such as the Queen's Guide award, the skills section can overlap, so you'll learn one skill and be able to count it for both awards.

I did my expedition for the Silver Award with my school by hiking, but you could do the expedition through Girlguiding as well (something I'm looking into doing to finish off my Gold Award!) This expedition is done to your own ability and can be done in a range of ways, from hiking to horse riding to canoeing.

For the Gold Award, you will also need to do a residential with people you haven't met before, something also required by the Queen's Guide award (two for the price of one again!) I participated in a Guiding Overseas Linked with Development (GOLD) trip for 18-30-year-olds to the Maldives with a team of five others from across the UK. It was a fantastic experience and a true highlight of my Girlguiding life! There are so many opportunities to attend residentials with people you haven't met before in Girlguiding, so there's lots of opportunities for this section if you are interested in completing the Gold Award.