The Duke of Edinburgh Award (@DofE) reveals the more unusual, unexpected, and unique ways you can win gold!
What do rocket building, circus performances, minibus maintenance, magic and beekeeping have in common?
The answer is that they are in the top ten most unusual, unexpected, or simply unique activities selected by young people for their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
The charity has revealed that these are just a few of the hundreds of different activities young people have been doing as part of their DofE. It hopes the release of its top ten 14-24 year olds will inspire them to begin their own DofE journey this fall, knowing that they can follow their passions and tailor their DofE experience to their own personal interests.
Ruth Marvel, CEO of DofE said:
“After all the disruptions, dislocations and loss of learning that young people have experienced over the past 18 months, it is important to help them recover and rebuild. During the pandemic, we saw how DofE helped young people stay positive, active, connected and follow their passions, no matter how unusual they are. At the start of the new school year we would like all young people to have the DofE opportunities to discover themselves and discover their own unique talents.
“Our message is simple: you can follow your passions and find new ones through the DofE – building the confidence and resilience to help you deal with whatever life throws your way.”
The top ten activities also include snail breeding, pigeon breeding, carnivorous plant breeding, reptile husbandry, and bhangra dancing.
They show that almost anything is possible, along with the more popular activities that young people are doing. In the past year, more than half (56%) of the volunteering activities were helping people in need, collecting trash and helping children. Seven out of ten participants (72%) chose cooking, playing instruments, or first aid as a skill they wanted to develop, and nearly half (46%) chose running, soccer, or fitness for their physical activity.
15 year old Chloe from Clackmannanshire, Scotland, learned how to maintain the school’s minibuses for her DofE skills.
“I enjoyed working under the hood and learning new things. It’s great to have learned so much because if your car breaks down you know what to do! ”She explained.
“I wouldn’t have done it without the Duke of Edinburgh Award, but it’s a great thing to submit my university application and it will help me in later life. It’s amazing that you’re not really limited to one skill or activity. You can do anything as long as you improve at it, ”she added.
Misha from Norfolk did circus skills. She had already started learning trapeze, juggling, tightrope and hula hoops and was thrilled to discover that she could develop these as part of her DofE.
Misha said:
“Doing my circus skills for DofE has really helped me improve. Even though I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’m always learning. My tutors support me a lot and help me to overcome my fears, as some disciplines can be quite nerve-wracking. ”
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The charity has set itself the goal of engaging, inspiring and empowering over a million young people through DofE with its “Youth Without Borders” strategy over the next five years. Those who want to do DofE can ask their school, college or university, join a national youth group like the Scouts or Girlguiding, or get in touch with their local youth club and see if they run DofE, or visit DofE.org.
The top ten unusual, unexpected, and unique DofE activities are:
- Rocket construction
- Circus performance
- Reptile husbandry
- Minibus maintenance
- beekeeping
- Snail farming
- Pigeon breeding
- carnivorous plant breeding
- magic
- dance bhangra
Case studies:
Missile construction:
Olivia Smith literally had a lot of fun winning her Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award! She joined the Missile Club at Worthing College and soon helped design and build a ship that was supposed to take off into the skies.
“I’ve always loved science, but I’ve never built anything like a rocket before. I’m more of a biology than a physicist, but it was fun doing something I haven’t tried, trying it out, and learning something. I probably wouldn’t have joined the club if I hadn’t been looking for a new skill for DofE, ”explained Olivia, now 19 years old.
“I think rocket building is a pretty unusual thing to do as a way to improve your DofE skills, but it can be difficult to find something that isn’t athletic and can be rated. You have to think outside the box and really see what is available to you. ”
Olivia added, “DofE isn’t just for sporty kids or musical kids, it’s much more inclusive and really gives people the opportunity to get involved regardless of their interests.”
Magic:
Arsh Shaikh from London has loved illusions since childhood and has always wanted to know how they are made. He says the discovery that he can learn tricks as part of his Duke of Edinburgh Prize is “just magical”.
“During my senior year at Leyton Sixth Form College, I was determined to learn magic to perform for friends and at events, so I joined the Magic Society thinking this would be a perfect skill for my DofE too,” explained Arsh, now 23, who, having won his bronze and silver awards, is in the final stages of his gold.
He added, “Learning magic has not been easy as it takes time to learn and keep improving, but it was so worth it. It’s cool and fun! I really like the audience’s reaction as it helps people forget their worries and instead be amazed at the trick that is being played. ”
Reptile keeping:
When 15-year-old Archie says he likes a good adder, he’s not talking about math skills. The Telford school boy loves snakes and he has made good use of his skills and love of all things reptiles using them as an activity to help him win his Bronze DofE Award.
As a good all-round athlete, Archie had no problem completing the physical portion of the DofE challenge, but it wasn’t until he volunteered at his local zoo that he knew what to do for the skills section.
“I never really thought about doing something like animal care, but the DofE motivated me and I am still motivated. I’ve always loved going to zoos, but I never thought about working with the animals and I really enjoy it. The snakes are my favorite, they are just amazing, I could stand there all day and watch them, ”explains Archie.
“I would tell anyone who thinks about DofE, do your research before you decide on your challenges because it’s not just about sports and music. There are so many exciting opportunities to learn new things, don’t copy anything. ”
Bhangra:
When Baljodh Singh of Birmingham signed up for his DofE he wanted to learn new skills and challenge himself, but the awards gave him so much more and land to his birth.
“I was born in India and came to the UK 10 years ago. I discovered a bhangra class near me that I really liked because its background is from Punjabi, which felt like a good connection with my culture and religion, ”said 20-year-old Baljodh.
“I started doing it on Friday night at school and I really enjoyed it. I had just started my DofE Gold so I could do it as a physical and then the manager wanted me to join the team – we have different teams performing at weddings and festivals and I’ve been all over the UK.
Baljodh added, “I am truly an academic and have always been very focused on learning so DofE has helped me have something outside of college, activities that are social, fun but still teach me.”
“DofE is about life lessons and one of the biggest for me has been getting out of my comfort zone. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to do something like Punjabi or Cadets, and now I come back and help others. Learning is endless, one thing leads to another and these are all skills that you take with you through life. ”
Maintenance of the minibus:
15 year old Chloe from Clackmannanshire, Scotland, learned how to maintain the school’s minibuses for her DofE skills. “I enjoyed working under the hood and learning new things. It’s great to have learned so much because if your car breaks down you know what to do! ”Explained Chloe.
“I wouldn’t have done it without the Duke of Edinburgh Award, but it’s a great thing to submit my university application and it will help me in later life. It’s amazing that you’re not really limited to one skill or activity. You can do anything as long as you improve, ”she added.
Circus tricks:
Misha from Norfolk did circus skills for her Duke of Edinburgh Award. She had already started learning trapeze, juggling, tightrope and hula hoops and was thrilled to discover that she could develop these as part of her DofE.
Misha said: “Doing my circus skills for DofE has really helped me improve. Even though I’ve been doing this for a long time, I’m always learning. My tutors support me a lot and help me to overcome my fears, as some disciplines can be quite nerve-wracking. ”
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