St. George's School | Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is an internationally recognized award system for youth aged 14 – 25. The award is divided into three levels:

Bronze (age 14 and older; minimum 6 months to complete)
Silver (age 15 and older; minimum 6 months with Bronze, 12 months Direct Entry)
Gold (age 16 and older; minimum 12 months with Silver, 18 months Direct Entry)

There are four sections that a student must complete in order to obtain the award:

1. Service

The service component helps to support your community and connect with people. Service that is used towards school service ties can also count for the award. Examples include volunteering at the library, seniors home, or non-profit organizations, etc.

Please visit The Duke of Edinburgh website for some ideas for service opportunities.

2. Physical Recreation

The physical recreation component helps you be healthy and active. Your games choice will count towards this requirement. You can have your coach sign your book at the end of the term. Examples include playing sports, running, going to the gym, etc.

3. Skills

The skill section means working at something that you are passionate about. This component requires that a student participates in a non-sporting activity that you can practice and improve in. You may use a skill that you work on at school, but it must involve time outside of class.

Please visit The Duke of Edinburgh website for skill examples and ideas.

4. Adventurous Journey

The Adventurous Journey allows you the chance to explore nature and discover the world around you. You'll be working with a team of your peers to learn outdoor skills, plan an adventure, and challenge yourself by camping and traveling in an unfamiliar environment.

At the Gold Level, there is one extra section called the Gold Project

The Gold Project asks you to spend five days in a new place with new people. Examples include academic exchanges, language immersions, youth conferences, etc.

How to get started

If you are interested in participating, there are two steps to do registering for the award and signing up for the online record book. Note that there is a $50 fee for registering. Click here for details.

Name of the group: St. George’s School – Ms. Catherine Holmen.

If for some reason, you cannot register online, you may come to the Service Office (101A) for a paper registration form. You will receive a book after you register. Record your activities in your Record Book and ask for signatures from your assessors. But most of all, be sure to make it an incredible experience!

For more information, please visit The Duke of Edinburgh website.

Completion

You are eligible to complete the award a *minimum* of 6 months after your registration date. There is no limit on how long you can take, however. As you finish sections of your online record book, you will submit them to be verified. A final check of all sections will happen at the end. If any changes need to be made, the award leader will send things back for revision with a note of what to do.

If you are still using a paper or PDF record book, please email Ms. Holmen for further guidance on submitting.

Any Questions? Ask Ms. Holmen at cholmen@stgeorges.bc.ca

General Inquiries

Contact Ms. Catherine Holmen at cholmen@stgeorges.bc.ca

or visit The Duke of Edinburgh Division website.

Sign up

History of the Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was founded in 1956 by His Royal Highness, The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, to help young people develop a sense of responsibility to themselves and to their communities. The concept of The Award is one of individual challenge. It offers young people a balanced, non-competitive programme of voluntary activities which encourages personal discovery, growth, self-reliance, perseverance, and responsibility. The Award currently runs in 130 countries world-wide, and to date 7 million young people have challenged themselves by doing the Award.

The Award currently has some 37, 000 participants. As The Award continues to grow throughout Canada, we are projecting 40, 000 participants within the next two to three years. There are approximately 5 million young people in Canada between the 14 to 24 age group. (Duke of Edinburgh, 2013)