If your child would benefit from support in achieving the grades that they need to apply for university, contact a GoStudent tutor who can help them fulfil their potential. If you would like to find out more about how BTECs compare to other qualifications, take a look at this useful comparison. Students can earn UCAS points by doing AS- Level, A-Level exams and IB diplomas, as well as through a few smaller independent qualifications. 112 points may sound like a lot, but actually, its not as bad as it seems and most students can achieve it with studying 3 A Levels. You will not receive UCAS points for completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. At the end of each level participants receive an award to recognise their achievements. Did any of your DofE activities inspire you to pursue a particular field of study? After signing up with a local school or institution, progress is managed online in an eDofE account. When it is this popular among young people, you can assume that many of your fellow university applicants are going to have done the award too. They will also usually only be counted towards specific courses, e.g. For this reason, its not just an excuse to accumulate more UCAS points; its extremely useful for developing your ability to tailor your English to the more formal constraints demanded by academic essay-writing, which will be an essential component of your time at university. It comprises of 5 days of group activities and 4 consecutive nights sleeping away from home. Bronze is open to anyone aged 14 and above. Think Student Ltd is a participant in the Amazon Services Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. They want proof of that. In my personal statement, I wrote about how my experience during the Skill and Physical sections had increased my confidence and improved my fitness and swimming speed; for my physical activity, I swam at a local swimming club and gained Personal Bests. If you have done the Silver award, you can do it in 52 weeks. There are a wide range of courses that you can complete and be examined in to earn points, all of which are listed on the LAMDA Website. You can start the DofE award at the age of 14 but you must be at least 16 years old to start the Gold level. UCAS and the DofE: My advice With the UCAS application process now open for 2020 entry to universities and colleges, Kira Jarvis, one of our Gold Award holders, shares her personal experience and advice on using your DofE experience to enhance your submission. For those of you doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award for the purposes of university admissions, you should know that it doesn't actually give you UCAS points. Beyond that, its a way of showing employers that you have a superb command of the English language, which youll need in order to be able to communicate effectively with colleagues and customers when working in a business. The DofE award is a program independent from school qualifications that young people choose to undertake. If you have done your DofE, I would definitely mention it. So, do universities care about the Duke of Edinburgh? There are lots of organisations in the UK who are licensed to run the DofE. The DofE residential must be completed as part of the Gold Award. Report. 10 Brilliant Ways to Get More UCAS Points. This is in comparison to a BTEC route, which is more specialised. They allow you to gain experience in a field of work which interests you, and give you the chance to either progress in that field of work, or go to university to further develop your skills. Participating in DofE can help you demonstrate that you possess the skills needed to excel in further education or your chosen career. Obviously, the amount of UCAS Points you can gain varies based on whether you achieve a Pass, Merit or Distinction in your exam so it is really worth practicing hard in your preparation. Beyond your academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of so called soft skills that you have developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork. Theyre not employers, Scouts leaders, or your mother so they might not be hugely impressed by your ability to read a map. The DofE has enormous variety and can be tailored to each persons interests. If you wish to report an article for misleading or false information, please click here. 2022 GCSE Grades Explained: All Your Questions Answered Here. They also mean that you have the option, if it interested you, to go straight into the field of work that you have been studying, as you will have hands on experience alongside your qualification. Alternatively, you can create a product (such as an app or an artistic object), or a production (such as a charity event or fashion show) and write a 1,000 word essay to accompany it. There are no scores or grades, participants either pass or not. Available subjects are broadly similar to A-level subject choices, with a few that are different to the standard A-level subjects, including Classical Heritage, Comparative Government and Politics, and Economics. Meanwhile, for Gold, you need to be 16 or above (i.e. 20. The DofE gives variety to a CV and is certainly an asset. Though this does not mean that it is limited to this group. Every young person can enter the award program. No. Some voccational qualifications do give UCAS points, however these are usually exams with a standardised assessment procedure. Many students consider taking more than the standard three AS/A-Levels, or they will take an A Level course on top of their core T-Level. If you want to earn extra UCAS Points, you can take an extra Cambridge Pre-U Qualification, so that you are studying 4 courses. Maybe your child does not currently participate in any regular extracurricular activities. Along with the practical skills such qualifications instil, they also teach you the ability to work well with others a useful skill to be able to talk about in job applications and interviews. It is also a qualification which is really valued by Universities as it demonstrates your individual study skills. I would mention that you can succeed without outside help even in potentially harsh conditions, have the mental and physical power to overcome challenges and can work well as a team. An Award of Personal Effectiveness (AoPE) from ASDAN will earn you 8 UCAS Points, and will take around 80 hours at Level 3. Silver DofE UCAS points also do not exist and so it will come as no surprise that the Bronze DofE follows the same pattern. These programmes are based around speaking and drama, which may help you increase your confidence in speaking to large groups of people a skill which can be easily transferred to other scenarios in your life and which is likely to be extremely useful! Horse-Riding is another fun way to earn UCAS Points, which does not have an especially academic basis. If youre not taking Mathematics as an A-level subject, but want a qualification in it just to prove that youre proficient, you could take a Free-standing Mathematics Qualification. Your gold award in DofE isnt a golden ticket to any higher education institution that you fancy. A well as developing your specific subject knowledge, an Access to HE Diploma is intended to provide you with the study skills and general tools to make your time at University much more manageable and successful. You will not receive UCAS points for completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. AS-Levels are another great way to earn UCAS Points. Residentials are a great way to explore creative outlets and learn new skills e.g., taking part in a jewellery making course or trying a new sport. The Duke of Edinburghs International Award. If you would like to add your UCAS Points up online, you can use the UCAS Tariff Points Calculator. There are plenty of opportunities to connect teamwork to the DofE, for example: To become a (enter job aspiration associated with course applied for here) cooperating in a team is of the utmost importance. 5 (12 reviews) Completion times vary between individuals; however, the Gold award will take at least 12 months to achieve. Reach out to a GoStudent tutor to ensure that your child reaches their full potential on exam day. The opinions expressed within articles on this site reflect the opinions of individual student contributors, not Think Student as a whole. Do an Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). This is usually the most challenging element for participants who must trek with their tent, water and cooking supplies carried on their backs. No UK university will ever care whether you did DofE or not. You must complete all of the sections before you turn 25. Additional academic qualifications will make your university application look more impressive to admissions tutors, particularly when you choose to take on additional high-powered subjects on the list of facilitating subjects; but theres plenty to be said for these more vocational qualifications as well. reply. If you want to find out more about the Cambridge Pre-U Qualification, the Cambridge website contains all the details of the courses and assessments. What Is The Average Salary For It People In Edinburgh? in lincoln university baseball 2022General; does gold dofe give ucas points . Participants and leaders can access their profile to see the activities completed in each section.Your child can even manage their DofE via the Duke of Edinburgh Award app which can be downloaded from the App store and Google Play. Some of the subjects also offer one year courses (which could perhaps be compared to AS-Levels). Gold demands four days and three nights, with eight hours. We hope this will inspire you to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and answer any questions you may have. Post-16 Qualifications A-levels, AS-levels, Advanced Highers, Certificates, Diplomas and Awards are all converted into UCAS points. For the Skills section, I worked at my local stables, assisting with the day to day tasks and lessons; this included manual labour of mucking out and grooming the horses. You can choose to simply have a greater understanding of more advanced maths. The difference really between BTECs and A-Levels is the fact that BTECs are more specific. Higher Level which can earn you up to 56 Points. There are some circumstances where it is acceptable to know one or two other people, but the majority of the residential group should be unknown. I mentioned that I had been part of Scouting since the age of 6 and had completed many challenges including trips to Germany, Estonia and Poland and hiking in the Peak District. For example, you may want to do a diploma in Fashion, or Fitness Instructing and Personal Training. The expedition should take place in wild country, away from civilisation for a minimum of 4 days and 3 nights with 8 hours of planned activity. ASDAN offer community-based courses that can get you plenty of extra UCAS points, such as the CoPE (16 UCAS points) and Wider Key Skills (3 different qualifications available, 8 points each). R-CAPTCHA. This is known as the Residential element, and it involves you staying and working away for five days. What are the Hardest GCSEs? When recording your activity on eDofE you will have to provide the residential start and end date as well as the date you started planning it. Through your DofE activities you may have already demonstrated an interest in your course subject. For Bronze, the expedition has to be two days and one night, with six hours of activity on each day. Theres a handy flow chart to follow to ensure youve met all of the requirements. At the time of applying for university, I had achieved a Scouting equivalent to the DofE Silver Award and was working towards my Gold DofE and Queens Scout Award, so I covered everything I had done so far in these. Every effort has been made to keep costs down to ensure the DofE award is accessible to all. Whilst the DofE doesn't directly impact on your UCAS application, you could use it to improve your score should you reach the higher grades of the syllabus. Plus, a DofE can also provide a good talking point in the interview, especially for a young person without much other work experience. With the UCAS application process now open for 2020 entry to universities and colleges, Kira Jarvis, one of our Gold Award holders, shares her personal experience and advice on using your DofE experience to enhance your submission. If music or drama arent quite your thing, but youre still inclined towards the performing arts, you might be interested to know that you can gain extra UCAS points through dancing.