Gold Participants
Participants organise their Volunteering, Physical, Skills section themselves. However if they need help or advice then the leaders are on hand to help them. Participants should average about an hour a week for each of the sections. They cannot be paid for the time they spend doing their sections and it needs to be done in their own time and not part of a GCSE or school requirement. They need to ensure that there is an adult who can be their assessor and sign their assessor report once they have finished (this cannot be a close relative). We organise the expedition section with the participants and arrange their assessment. There is also an extra section at Gold level called 'Residential' which the participants need to organise themselves.
If they have completed their Silver award they have to do their Volunteering for 12 months. Then the other two sections comprise of one for 6 months and one for 12 months. The residential section must be at least 5 days, 4 nights.
If they haven't completed their Silver award they have to do one section for 6 months, one for 12 months and one for 18 months. The Volunteering must be either 12 or 18 months.
Participants must volunteer their time to help someone in the community e.g. helping younger children in a sports club, helping at an elderly people's home, or helping in a charity shop.
Physical is any sport. This could be a team sport for example football, hockey or rugby. Or it could be an individual sport such as swimming, athletics, karate or dance.
Skills are really any hobby that isn't a sport. This can include, art, music, computer skills, coaching, reading, cooking, snooker etc.
The participants will undertake a 4 day expedition in wild country where they will plan their route, carry everything they need, cook for themselves, and camp overnight. The training will take place over the autumn and winter months, with the expeditions taking place in the Summer term.
The participants will undertake a 5 day residential trip away from their home for at least 4 nights. This should be a skill, sport or volunteering opportuntity. For example they could go and help the National Trust building drystone walls, help at a children's holiday camp or holiday home for disabled people. Many choose to do this section abroad.
For more information on the sections and for more ideas on how to complete them visit the DofE website.
Section Ideas
