What is the International Award?

The International Award is an exciting self-development programme available to all young people worldwide, equipping them with life skills to make a difference to themselves, their communities and their world. To date almost 5 million young people from over 110 countries have been motivated to undertake a variety of voluntary and challenging activities.

Who can take part?The award is flexible and can be done by anyone aged 14–25 in their own time. Mental or physical ability or social circumstances should never be a barrier. Moreover, the individual chooses what activities to do depending on his or her interests and resources. If you are over 25, you still have options! You too can get involved by becoming an award leader, the backbone of the award programme and the key to its success.

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For many students, participating in the Duke of Edinburgh International Award can be life changing, as it gives them opportunities they never thought possible. Not only does the award give students an edge when applying for universities, it gives them the skills and confidence for a productive and prosperous future.
Nadeem Faisal, International Award Coordinator

The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is one of Doha College's largest co-curricular activities, with nearly 200 students taking part in the three award levels of Bronze, Silver and Gold. With a dedicated team of staff volunteering their time, students have the opportunity to really put themselves out of their “comfort zone”. This is done by undertaking Adventurous Journeys (AJs) and acquiring new skills and experiences through other sections of the Award: Service, Physical Activity, Skills and a Residential Project (Gold only). All these go towards developing a varied skillset of those participants who complete the Award. Expand the sections below to find out more.

Award Levels

Award Sections

Section	Details
Service	To encourage a sense of responsibility to the community. The emphasis of this section is the regular giving of a service: · Community service projects · Conservation work · Voluntary service in hospitals or community homes More specialised training such as lifesaving, first aid or rescue services
Adventurous journey	An enjoyable experience designed to cultivate a spirit of adventure and discovery; an understanding of the environment, and the importance of working together in a team with a common purpose. The Adventurous Journey may be by foot, bicycle, boat or horseback, or alternatively it may be an equally challenging adventurous journey. Proper training and preparation, self sufficiency, self-reliance and the exploration of new surroundings are the key elements. If you are feeling particularly adventurous then the Adventurous Journey Section could be fulfilled overseas, perhaps on an organised exchange with an award group from another country.
Skills	To encourage the development of personal interests and learn practical skills. There are over 200 hobby and vocational skills from which you can choose, such as photography, cacti growing, cooking, magazine production or metal work.
Physical recreation	To encourage improved performance and physical fitness, participants are required to take part in some form of organised physical recreation and show individual progress. Most team and individual sports are included, such as football, athletics, archery, swimming and canoeing. The list is endless, depending on what appeals to you.
Residential project	For Gold level only. Intended to broaden your experience through living and working with others (who are not your everyday companions) over a period of five consecutive days.

How to Enrol

Students intending to take part in the Bronze Award in Year 10 can enrol in June, at the end of Year 9. Students new to Doha College can enrol at the start of the academic year in September.

Students wishing to participate in the Silver Award will have to have completed the Bronze Award if they attended the college in Year 10. Direct entry into the Silver Award may be available for 6th Form students only. Upper 6th Form students may also enter the Gold Award directly.

Detailed information and enrolment forms for the International Award are available on our parent portal.

Here are the thoughts of some of Doha College's DoE participants:

My experience with the Duke of Edinburgh Award has been extremely positive and rewarding; I've been able to achieve goals I would never have considered before. I've been given the opportunity to support my community while also making personal progress. The Award allowed me to solely focus in areas like physical activity, creative skill and voluntary service. Personally, I’m pleased that I signed up for such an enlightening experience, as its impact will last a lifetime.
Zainab Zaheer, Year 10

So far, I have found that the DofE international award is an informative yet fun experience where I am exploring activities and skills from a different perspective - working towards a SMART goal. The activity so far has enabled me to gain important organisational skills along with communication and role model-based skills from my voluntary service. In addition, I have gained excellent results in reference to the physical (strength and endurance training) component - which I have only obtained due to the motivation brought forward from the SMART goal that I am working towards. Overall, I am eager to procure the skills that will come from the Virtual Bronze Exploration, even though it is a bit unorthodox, I’m sure it will be carried out to a high standard giving us the illusion of being on the actual adventure journey.
Lillian Govender 10T1

Award	Minimum Age	Minimum Participation
Bronze	14	6 months
Silver	15	12 months
Gold	16	28 months

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Award Levels

Award Sections

How to Enrol