Gold

Once you are 16 you can do your Gold DofE programme.  No activities can be counted for this before your 16th birthday.

You’ll spend 12 months on your Volunteering section.  For Physical and Skills you must spend 12 months on one and six months on the other – you decide which way round you do it.

Your expedition will be for four days and three nights (plus an acclimatisation day) and should take place in ‘wild country’.

The big difference at Gold is you’ll also do a Residential section – staying away from home for five days and four nights doing a shared activity with people you don’t know.  It’s great fun and a real chance to do something different!

If you’ve jumped straight into your Gold DofE programme you’ll need to do a further six months either volunteering or whichever one of your physical or skills activities you spent the most time on.

For Gold, you’ll need to do your programme for at least 12 months if you’ve achieved your Silver Award, or 18 months if you’ve started at Gold level without doing your Silver – even if you’ve done Bronze.

Gold (16+ years old)
Volunteering	Physical	Skill	Expedition	Residential
12 months	One section for 12 months and the other section for 6 months		Plan, train for and undertake a 4 day, 3 night expedition	Undertake a shared activity in a residential setting away from home for 5 days and 4 nights
Direct entrants must undertake a further 6 months in either the Volunteering or the longer of the Physical or Skills sections.