The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (DofE) is a youth achievement programme founded in 1956 by Prince Philip. It operates at bronze, silver and gold levels, for which participants aged 14 to 24 must volunteer, complete an expedition and practise a skill and a sport. Each section must be sustained for a certain number of months depending on the award level. Expeditions remain analogue: teams read maps, erect tents and cook outside without recourse to a mobile phone.
In 2025 some 570,000 Britons took part, a record. Last year 94,000 participants came from ethnic-minority backgrounds. The scheme has spread to more than 130 countries. The organisation estimates that the 5m hours participants spent volunteering in 2025 were worth £33m to local communities.
Popular skills in the 1960s included car maintenance, dressmaking and rifle-shooting. By 2025 e-sports and podcasting were in favour, alongside cooking and music lessons. Participants can now log progress on an app rather than in paper booklets.
Local spending on youth services in Britain has dropped by more than 70% since 2010; more than 1,000 youth clubs have closed in the same period. Over half of apprenticeship starts are now by people aged above 25, leaving young people with fewer structured routes into work. The DofE's CEO is Ruth Marvel.
Would you care to view the ruins of my good intentions?