As a member of the Air Cadets, you will have the opportunity to have fun and challenge yourself whilst helping others in the community through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
As a member of the Air Cadets, you will get the chance to do your Duke of Edinburgh’s Award all the way up to gold level, with the help of Squadron and Wing staff. We are uniquely placed in the Air Cadets to help you achieve these awards, as many of the activities we do in the corps can count towards the modules you need to complete the qualification.
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The DofE Award
In the Air Cadets, we offer four levels of DofE training in line with our Progressive Training Syllabus: Pre-DofE (Blue), Bronze, Silver and Gold. The Bronze, Silver and Gold awards are all recognised DofE qualifications, whilst the Pre-DofE badge is to give younger cadets a taste of what DofE is all about.
DofE is an internationally-recognised award that pushes you to challenge yourself and adventure. Bronze, Silver and Gold consist of four sections : Skills, Physical, Volunteering and Expedition. For gold, there is a fifth, a Residential stay.
Through the Air Cadets, we can help you to complete each stage of your DofE award through our resources and activities. Each squadron has a DofE officer who manages all DofE entries and organises the necessary opportunities needed for the completion of the award. A selection of the ways you can achieve each section of the award with the Air Cadets include:
- Volunteering – Practical first aid; service to the ATC or fundraising for ATC-affiliated charities, eg the RAF Benevolent Fund, RAFA and the Royal British Legion.
- Physical – taking part in a Wing or Regional ATC Sports team for selected sports, eg football, rugby hockey and netball; squadron-run sports nights
- Skill – Aviation studies; first aid; marksmanship; playing in a squadron, wing or region band; radio.
- Expedition – Practice and assessed expeditions run by the squadron or wing.
- Residential (Gold only) – the Air Cadet Leadership Course; residential flying and gliding scholarships; the International Air Cadet Exchange; annual summer camps.
Cadets completing the award are expected to complete all four sections, each having a minimum time commitment to them, progressively getting longer for each award. It should take a minimum of six months to complete your bronze and silver award whilst twelve months are expected to complete your gold award.
Cadets of all ages may complete the Pre-DofE award, and you may begin your bronze at age 14, silver at 15 and gold at 16. You may continue to complete your awards up until you are 24.
For more information on the Duke of Edinburgh’s award, please see their official website at www.dofe.org or see the ATC DofE leaflet.
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