Be part of the next

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award scheme!

A DofE Award is not just a prestigious award much desired by colleges, universities and employers–it recognises the huge effort put into achieving it taking on challenges that build confidence, resilience, and skills for life. Not all secondary schools are able to offer the DofE Award scheme to their pupils. Tha'ts why we're excited to be giving young people in our village the chance to achieve something they can be proud of. Last year, we ran the Bronze Award for five young residents of Hatfield Peverel

To earn their award, each participant committed to three separate activities—physical exercise, learning a new skill, and volunteering—over a period of three to six months. Their hard work culminated in an adventurous expedition: a weekend of hiking and camping, testing their teamwork and perseverance in the great outdoors.

Every other week, they met at Hatfield Peverel Village Hall for hands-on training in map reading, first aid, cooking, camp craft, and tent-pitching—essential skills for their summer expedition. And in an era of constant digital distractions, they took on the challenge without mobile phones in sight! 

Our Hatfield Peverel DofE community group has led the way in running the scheme outside traditional school settings, and it’s fantastic to hear that other parish councils are now adopting our model. This means even more young people, who may not have access to the programme through their schools, can benefit from the life-changing experience that DofE offers. 

View our most recent Facebook post here for an update on our first Bronze Award cohort: https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1GCSzwvPb6/

We are running a new DofE Bronze Award from January 2026. If your young person is interested and is a resident of Hatfield Peverel, contact Cllr Richard Parker at cllrparker@hatfieldpeverelpc.com or Cllr Tina Short at cllrshort@hatfieldpeverelpc.com

V