Doing your Residential section

Your DofE residential is a key part of your Gold Award, where you have the opportunity to challenge yourself, learn valuable life skills, embrace new experiences, and have fun with new people. You may choose to hone the skills developed through your favourite hobbies like art or photography, or dive into a new experience such as volunteering at a summer camp, working on a conservation project, or going on a cookery or sports course.

During your residential, you’ll find yourself in a new environment, surrounded by people you’ve never met – often from diverse backgrounds. Together, you’ll take on challenges, expand your horizons, and work as a team to create meaningful impact. By finding opportunities that interest you away from your usual group of friends, you’ll feel empowered by developing your initiative and planning skills. If you’re an Approved Activity Provider or organisation, go to the Running DofE Residentials page for all the information you need.

Through completing the Residential section, we hope you’ll experience real growth. Hopefully you’ll:

• Develop your self-confidence
• Work on your independence
• Accept responsibility for yourself and others
• Develop communication skills and effective coping mechanisms.

Your residential is more than just an activity week – it’s a chance to discover new passions and make memories that will last a lifetime.

So, what will your residential be?

You can also read our blog to understand the key changes and the research behind them.