Every year, DofE inspires hundreds of thousands of young people, from all walks of life, to explore who they are, grow in confidence and develop the skills they need to successfully navigate life. We help them build lifelong belief in themselves, supporting them to take on their own challenges, follow their passions, and discover talents they never knew they had. The DofE is delivered in schools, colleges, community organisations, hospitals, prisons and more, all over the UK and internationally.
DofE is open to any young person aged 14-24. Participants build their own programme, choosing activities and a cause to volunteer for. The DofE is structured into three levels of Award which increase in challenge and duration: Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The main differences between the Award levels are the minimum length of time it takes to complete the programme, how challenging it is, and the minimum age you can start. There are four main sections of a DofE programme: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, and Expedition. At Gold, participants will also complete a Residential section.
In 2023-24, 330,984 young people started their DofE, giving 4.7 million hours of volunteering to their communities. The DofE charity has increased our target to give 1.6 million young people the chance to participate in a life-changing DofE programme by 2026.
As a leading UK youth charity, we work to influence debates and decisions that affect young people’s life chances and wellbeing.
Each year, hundreds of thousands of young people do their DofE programme. Keeping them safe is our first priority and everyone’s responsibility.
Doing their DofE in prison gives young people a chance to turn their lives around on release – helping them discover new talents, providing focus, motivation and responsibility.
This is Youth recognises and celebrates the amazing stories behind the DofE. It showcases young people and the adults who support them doing what they do best.
We spoke to more than 3,000 young people from across the UK for Youth Voices 2024 – giving them a platform to share their hopes, worries and priorities for the future.
We have a range of inspiring young spokespeople who can share their experience of how, through their DofE, they have overcome huge challenges, discovered new skills and passions, built life-long confidence and resilience, and achieved things they never thought they could.
Find out what’s happening at the DofE: media releases, informative blogs, inspirational stories and more.
