document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Oxford Royale Academy is a part of Oxford Programs Limited, a company registered in England as company number 6045196, registered office at 264 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7DY. Participants and leaders can access their profile to see the activities completed in each section.Your child can even manage their DofE via the Duke of Edinburgh Award app which can be downloaded from the App store and Google Play. It enables you to take a more vocational approach to studying the subjects that interest you, and is recognised by many Universities as a valuable qualification. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Whats the Best Age to Start Swimming Lessons? 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. 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. Do you feel like the achievement award taught you how to deal with challenge? The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, presents the award but thats about the only role he has in the whole thing. Does gold DofE give UCAS points? Gold Duke of Edinburgh - Worth Doing? - The Student Room IP-address: 40.77.167.8. Duke of Edinburgh is the initiative that takes place in secondary school across schools in England and the rest of the UK. It can be taken alongside GCSEs or A-Levels. Yes. Did your volunteering or skill complement a particular part of your studies? Not gonna be a snitch, but now that I know stuff like this happen. 5 (12 reviews) Additional academic qualifications will make your university application look more impressive to admissions tutors, particularly when you choose to take on additional high-powered subjects on the list of facilitating subjects; but theres plenty to be said for these more vocational qualifications as well. That's key stage 4. There is no minimum distance to cover, however there must be 8 hours of planned activity each day to satisfy the expedition requirements. Copyright 2022 Think Student Ltd. Company No. Though this does not mean that it is limited to this group. Is the Duke of Edinburgh award important for university? Duke of Edinburgh's Award | Army Cadets UK You can gain confidence in speaking, writing and listening, which will all be incredibly useful skills. They are offered by Sixth Forms, and allow you to choose which subjects you want to study moving forward. Horse-Riding is another fun way to earn UCAS Points, which does not have an especially academic basis. You'll likely want to focus the first 80% of your personal statement on your specific course and why you want to study it. A Cambridge Pre-U Qualification is an alternative to A-Levels which is equivalent in value. Your gold award in DofE isnt a golden ticket to any higher education institution that you fancy. /h. You may also want to start taking the exams, if you already have a high level of skill in playing an instrument. Aiming to encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery, you have to plan, train for, and complete an adventurous journey somewhere in the UK or abroad. The expedition should take place in wild country, away from civilisation for a minimum of 4 days and 3 nights with 8 hours of planned activity. The residentials take place in a scenic location on the world-famous Jurassic Coast. It is aimed at students aged 16 and over to allow them to develop their employability skills. Founded the Duke himself almost 60 years ago, it was designed to encourage anyone aged 14 to 24 to take on a range of activities that develop skills such as leadership, perseverance, team work and. They also mean that you have the option, if it interested you, to go straight into the field of work that you have been studying, as you will have hands on experience alongside your qualification. These components are: If you would like to find out more about the International Baccalaureate and how it works, information about the Diplo. You will not receive UCAS points for completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. 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. It helped me to be confident and go for things I would have only dreamed of before doing the DofE. If you explain how it helped or changed you, such as boosting confidence and skills while showing commitment to a task, it could increase your chances of getting a place. What are the Duke of Edinburgh Award UCAS application points? DofE is split into three different levels, which you can take at different ages and which differ in intensity and material required. At Cumulus Outdoors our residentials start from 270. Gain points by playing a musical instrument. Gold demands four days and three nights, with eight hours. For those of you doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award for the purposes of university admissions, you should know that it doesnt actually give you UCAS points. DofE on UCAS - The Student Room Would they benefit from the focus and structure that a DofE programme provides? OK, its a bit more involved than simply going horse riding, but if youre a keen rider then you can use your equestrian skills to your advantage by taking qualifications from the British Horse Society. But well save that question for a little while later. This will vary depending on when and where you are completing your expedition. Alternatively, you can create a product (such as an app or an artistic object), or a production (such as a charity event or fashion show) and write a 1,000 word essay to accompany it. It is not only incredibly useful in terms of your University Application, but also in your future employment opportunities. Our goal is to connect every student with the perfect tutor. Participants must camp or sleep in simple self-catering accommodation and eat at least one cooked meal per day. Unfortunately, this isnt a quick way to earn extra UCAS Points, as you have to have put a significant amount of time into playing in order to reach a Grade 6 level. This is in comparison to a BTEC route, which is more specialised. Not at all, by all means do it if you have the time, but your exam results are far more important. In a similar way to A-Levels, you will have a broader range of subjects that you can continue with at degree level. Every effort has been made to keep costs down to ensure the DofE award is accessible to all. You may also want to have a look at some Universities entry requirements, which often list preferred A-Levels. Further information about both the Diploma and the Award can be found on the NOCN Website. 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. reply. It is often a good idea to consider which subject you want to take at University when you are choosing which A-Levels you should take. If so, youll be pleased to learn that the exams you do will give you extra UCAS points from Grade 6 upwards. The aim is to develop skills in: teamwork, problem solving, discussion, research, oral presentation and self-management. Bronze is open to anyone aged 14 and above. Higher Level which can earn you up to 56 Points. Every young person can enter the award program. Does Oxford care about Duke of Edinburgh? Official University of Edinburgh 2023 Applicant Thread, Official LSE Undergraduate Applicants thread 2023, students going to University of Leeds 2023 September, Cambridge and international qualifications, Official UNIVERSITY of BATH 2023 entry thread, Oxford History Applicants 2023 - Undergraduate & Postgraduate, Official Oxford 2023 Postgraduate Applicants Thread. Generally, it would be recommended to do them in the first year if possible, to reduce your stress when it comes to your A-Level exam season. 0. 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. At the time of applying for university, I had achieved a Scouting equivalent to the DofE Silver Award and was working towards my Gold DofE and Queens Scout Award, so I covered everything I had done so far in these. If your child would benefit from support in achieving the grades that they need to apply for university, contact a GoStudent tutor who can help them fulfil their potential. If you want to find out more about the Cambridge Pre-U Qualification, the Cambridge website contains all the details of the courses and assessments. But of course, it changes with different qualifications - so if you get a triple distinction (DDD) for a BTEC diploma, you'll also get 144 points. Theyre not employers, Scouts leaders, or your mother so they might not be hugely impressed by your ability to read a map. 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. Copyright The Student Room 2023 all rights reserved. Dorset is one of the best places in the UK to participate in outdoor adventure activities. The Duke of Edinburgh Award has a number of benefits. Does Gold DofE get UCAS points? 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. . Duke of Edinburgh Award: Will it Boost My UCAS Application? DofE FAQs | DofE Hero The Certificate of Proficiency in English will equip you with the English skills necessary to take your studies to PhD level and beyond, write confidently about any subject, be a powerful negotiator in the world of business and talk articulately about complex issues and ideas. If you would like to find out more about how BTECs compare to other qualifications, take a look at this useful comparison. does gold dofe give ucas points. Some apprenticeships will require you to have a certain number of GCSEs at a minimum grade or higher, and some higher-level apprenticeships will require you to have further qualification (such as A Levels) in subjects which relate to the apprenticeship. captcha. Report. But is this true? The Gold residential must include 5 consecutive days of group activities and at least 4 nights away from home. When researching your Duke of Edinburgh Award, you should think carefully about your interests and decide what you want to achieve from the trip. Participants must work through these in turn and satisfy various criteria. One of the biggest providers of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Bronze Award YOU CAN REGISTER AS SOON AS YOU ARE IN THE SCHOOL YEAR IN WHICH YOU WILL TURN 14 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. 23km per dayHow far do you walk on DofE? Perhaps your childs school is heavily endorsing participation in the DofE which might have you wondering Is DofE important for university applications? . Cambridge ESOL Programmes are aimed at students who do not speak English as their first language, so if you are a native English speaker, unfortunately this is not a way that you can earn extra UCAS Points. It does not serve any purpose on your UCAS form beyond the personal statement, where you are entitled to push it hard. I was able to demonstrate my strong sense of teamwork under challenging circumstances while trekking Snowdonia this Summer with my Duke of Edinburgh expedition group. Its a good thing to do regardless of whether it will give your application a boost. Which parts of the UCAS application can you use your DofE experience in? Youll get 20 UCAS points if you achieve an A grade. UCL emailed about my grade 4 in GCSE maths, please help. UCAS points are the most important piece of information for universities considering new students. These are known as bronze, silver, and gold level. The whole qualification will take you around 150 hours to complete. Its important to choose a residential programme that interests you and allows you to explore your passions further. You will feel a huge sense of achievement when you have completed all of the sections and receive your award. Although some Universities give out their conditional offers to students based on their exam grades, there are still some which the UCAS Points system for offers. Dance Examinations are a great way to earn extra UCAS Points. 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. They are one of the most challenging aspects as you are isolated from the outside world without mobiles or other devices. You must also undertake an expedition that lasts 4 days and 3 nights as well as a residential. These qualifications are primarily designed for those who want to pursue an equestrian career, but theyre a good way for those with a passion for horses to get extra UCAS points doing something they love. To make sure your planned residential satisfies all of the conditions we recommend looking at the residential checklist on the dofe.org website. Swanage Just as you can earn UCAS points for graded musical instrument exams, so you can accumulate them by taking exams in speech and drama. LAMDA and UCAS Points | Devon Drama 0. 14-24 year-olds can do a DofE programme at one of three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, leads to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Award. 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! Note that this qualification will be withdrawn at the end of 2016, but you still have time to gain one before then. It does not serve any purpose on your UCAS form beyond the personal statement, where you are entitled to push it hard. Unfortunately, DofE does not give you UCAS points. 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. A-Levels are the most common way of getting UCAS Points. If you are starting at Gold level, without completing your Silver it will take at least 18 months. Duke of Edinburgh Award UCAS Application | GoStudent The DofE award is a program independent from school qualifications that young people choose to undertake. You must volunteer in the community for at least 12 months and complete the physical and skill sections. Is it actually going to help to get you into some of the best universities in the country? A well as developing your specific subject knowledge, an Access to HE Diploma is intended to provide you with the study skills and general tools to make your time at University much more manageable and successful. If you need 144 points to do your dream university course, you'll need three A-level A grades. At the end of the expedition, you will be required to give a presentation (written, verbal, exhibition etc. These courses are designed to be excellent preparation for university, and are now widely recognised by admissions tutors, including by the Ivy League universities in the USA. There are age restrictions for each level of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. It is also worth taking into account the fact that apprenticeships can be very competitive, because there are so many benefits to them, but this does not mean that you should not try to get them after all, youll never get to do them if you dont apply! While it's standard to take three A-levels, many of the brightest students will be taking four or even five A-levels, or four . There are plenty of programmes that can count towards your Gold DofE residential. Is the Duke of Edinburgh award really uni application gold? Qualifications as well as your academic qualifications, remember to include your DofE Award. The elements of each persons DofE can vary widely, depending on how they choose to complete their sections. Bronze is open to anyone aged 14 and above. It has been designed to allow you hone your specific skillset and explore the topics that matter most to you. The DofE also helped me when applying for summer placements; I was successful getting placements at a local wildlife trust, two veterinary clinics and an internship in South Africa, all of which would not have been possible without the DofE giving me the confidence to give things a go. Expedition participants must be unaccompanied and it needs to be completed without motorised transport. All sections of the award must be completed to pass the DofE award. Double check whether theyre on the list of approved DofE activity providers. At Cumulus Outdoors we specialise in outdoor adventure activity residentials. If youre thinking of doing this, talk to the teachers at your school to find out what subjects would fit into your timetable. 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. Naturally, some groups will do less than this, and others more. Spending more time in a library, taking an extra A-level, can be well worth it. Do universities like Duke Edinburgh Award? Many of them develop invaluable transferrable skills for success in your working life, which may prove critical to securing a job, either part-time during your university studies, or full-time once you graduate. It comprises of four sections for Bronze and Silver and 5 sections for Gold. There are lots of DofE residential providers across the UK offering a variety of activities. In fact, simply as an addition to your CV and University Application, its not really necessary for you to do a course and gain the qualification (though if it is something that is available to you it shouldnt be turned down!). With exceptions for some specific courses, DofE comes into play for that last 20% . Work experience where possible, make each one relevant to the role youre applying for, listing your achievements and responsibilities. Arty types might like Trinity College Londons Gold Arts Award, which gives you 35 extra points in recognition of your involvement with a range of arts projects and leadership (recorded in a portfolio in a medium of your choosing, such as a diary, video or blog). 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. 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. The Duke of Edinburghs International Award. I also think that DofE Gold helps prepare you for university life, by replicating university experiences. Throughout the residential week you should endeavour to push the boundaries of your comfort zone and experience new environments and new people. Enjoyed this article? For full courses, known as Principal Subjects, youll receive up to 145 UCAS points, while Short Courses available in Modern Foreign Languages, Mathematics and Global Perspectives attract up to 60 points. This could be useful for a number of University courses, which require you to have a reasonably high level of maths, but do not necessarily need (even though it is generally preferred) for you to have a Maths A-Level. Many students consider taking more than the standard three AS/A-Levels, or they will take an A Level course on top of their core T-Level. Has anybody accepted university offers so far in 2023? If yes, then the DofE may not be able to elevate their UCAS application much further. Remember, DofE has over 400,000 entrants every year. It comprises of 5 days of group activities and 4 consecutive nights sleeping away from home. This doesnt just mean your test scores or exam results. Report. . You must complete all of the sections before you turn 25. The bronze award should take participants 26 weeks. 5 (39 reviews) Siddharth. Did it teach you a new way of looking at the world? But an extra A-level should certainly boost your application particularly if its in one of the facilitating subjects and youll get up to 140 extra UCAS points. Doing a full diploma may be a bit of a tall order alongside A-levels, but the lower qualifications should be more manageable and will still give you points to the rough equivalent of half an A-level. However, some universities look at extracurricular activities favourably during the admission process. There are a number of different qualifications and courses which will help international students develop their English skills, however the main 2 qualifications which allow you to earn UCAS points are: Not only does this kind of qualification give you UCAS Points, but it also will benefit you greatly in the worlds of work and higher education if you are not a native English speaker. The best Academic tutoring tutors available. Some voccational qualifications do give UCAS points, however these are usually exams with a standardised assessment procedure. I am not a robot. 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. If you have done your DofE, I would definitely mention it. 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). You might have guessed that you are awarded a certain number of these points for each of your A-levels, with a higher number of points for higher grades; but what you might not have known is that there are many more ways of boosting your number of UCAS points beyond simply completing your A-levels. You can't list it as a qualification in your education section.