The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award
at Sapphire Coast Anglican College
Sapphire Coast Anglican College is proud to offer the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award because it builds the resilience and self-reliance we want every student to carry beyond the classroom. The Award challenges young people to set their own goals, serve their community, stay active and step into the outdoors, then keep showing up week after week until those goals are met. That steady, personal effort grows young people of character who are ready for life and work, which sits at the heart of what we do at SCAC.
The Award is the world’s leading youth development framework, recognised by employers and universities worldwide. It is non-competitive: every participant sets their own goals and is only ever measured against themselves.
Explore this page
How the Award works Bronze Silver Gold Levels at a glance Journeys & camps Getting started & fees ContactHow the Award works
There are three Levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each Level becomes more challenging and each is made up of four Sections, with Gold adding a fifth, the Gold Residential Project. Students choose their own activities for every Section, set a SMART goal, and log their hours in the Online Record Book (ORB). Flip the cards below to see what each Section involves.
Voluntary Service
Giving time without pay to a charity, community group or cause. Surf life saving, SES cadets, coaching juniors, helping at an op shop or visiting the elderly all count.
Physical Recreation
Any sport or physical activity that improves fitness. Team sport, surfing, running, dance or gym sessions, anything that gets your child moving regularly.
Skills
Developing a personal interest or talent that is not physical. Music, coding, photography, cooking, first aid, a language, sports coaching or umpiring all qualify.
Adventurous Journey
Planning, training for and completing a supervised team journey in the outdoors with a clear purpose. Hiking, paddling, cycling or an approved urban journey. Usually the highlight of the whole Award.
Requirements on this page are current as at June 2026 and reflect the national changes introduced in October 2025. The Duke of Ed Handbook is always the final word.
Bronze Level
Start at 14. Minimum 3 months. The entry point to the Award.
Bronze was refreshed nationally in October 2025 and is now faster and more flexible than it used to be. There is no longer a Major Section and the Practice Journey is optional, so a committed student can complete Bronze in as little as one school term of consistent effort.
| Minimum starting age | 14 years. A 13 year old may start with Award Leader approval if most of their year group is 14 or older. |
| Voluntary Service | Minimum 3 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Physical Recreation | Minimum 3 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Skills | Minimum 3 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Adventurous Journey | One Qualifying Journey of at least 2 days and 1 night, around 6 hours of purposeful effort each day. A Practice Journey is optional at the discretion of the Award Leader. Teams of 4 to 10. |
| Minimum total time | 3 months |
Silver Level
Minimum 6 months. A genuine step up in commitment and adventure.
Silver doubles the time commitment of Bronze and the Adventurous Journey grows to three days. Students who have finished Bronze can move straight into Silver. Direct entrants who skip Bronze complete an extra 6 months in one Section.
| Minimum starting age | 15 years for direct entrants. Students who have completed Bronze may start earlier with Award Leader approval, so they can keep moving with their year group. |
| Voluntary Service | Minimum 6 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Physical Recreation | Minimum 6 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Skills | Minimum 6 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Adventurous Journey | Practice Journey plus a Qualifying Journey of at least 3 days and 2 nights, around 7 hours of purposeful effort each day. |
| Direct entrants | Students who did not complete Bronze add 6 months to one of Service, Physical Recreation or Skills (their Major Section), taking the minimum total to 12 months. |
| Minimum total time | 6 months with Bronze completed, 12 months as a direct entrant |
Gold Level
Minimum 12 months. The pinnacle, presented on behalf of the Governor of NSW.
Gold asks for a full year of sustained commitment, a four day journey, and a fifth Section: the Gold Residential Project, where participants spend five days living and working away from home alongside people they do not already know. Gold is genuinely hard work, and that is exactly why it carries so much weight with universities and employers.
| Minimum starting age | 16 years for direct entrants. Students who have completed Silver may start earlier with Award Leader approval. |
| Voluntary Service | Minimum 12 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Physical Recreation | Minimum 12 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Skills | Minimum 12 months, at least 1 hour per week |
| Adventurous Journey | Practice Journey plus a Qualifying Journey of at least 4 days and 3 nights, around 8 hours of purposeful effort each day. |
| Gold Residential Project | At least 5 days and 4 nights away from home on a shared activity with people they do not already know. Camps, leadership programs, environmental projects and residential courses all qualify. |
| Direct entrants | Students who did not complete Silver add 6 months to one Section (their Major Section), taking the minimum total to 18 months. No activity before the 16th birthday can count towards Gold. |
| Minimum total time | 12 months with Silver completed, 18 months as a direct entrant |
Levels at a glance
| Bronze | Silver | Gold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum age | 14 | 15, or earlier with Bronze done | 16, or earlier with Silver done |
| Service, Physical, Skills | 3 months each | 6 months each | 12 months each |
| Adventurous Journey | 2 days, 1 night | 3 days, 2 nights | 4 days, 3 nights |
| Residential Project | Not required | Not required | 5 days, 4 nights |
| Minimum total time | 3 months | 6 months (12 direct entry) | 12 months (18 direct entry) |
Adventurous Journeys and camps
The Adventurous Journey is where the Award comes alive. Students plan a route with their team, set a purpose for the journey, train, carry their own gear, cook their own food and navigate together. It will test them, and that is the point.
College-run journeys
SCAC runs Adventurous Journey camps through the school year, typically multi-day hikes and white water rafting expeditions in the spectacular country on our doorstep. Camp details, dates, costs and permission notes are sent to families as each journey is confirmed. Camps are an additional cost to the registration fee.
Organising a journey independently
Students do not have to wait for a College camp. Those wanting to progress faster, or whose timing does not line up with the school calendar, can complete a journey with an approved external provider. The non-negotiables:
- Approval comes first. Every journey, College-run or independent, must be approved by the Award Leader in the ORB before departure. A journey done without prior approval will not count.
- Use a recognised provider. The NSW Office of Sport AJ programs run at its Sport and Recreation Centres, including self-guided options at Broken Bay, and commercial providers such as Outward Bound Australia run dedicated Duke of Ed journeys year round.
- The journey must meet the duration and effort requirements for the student’s Level, have a defined purpose, and be properly supervised and assessed.
- External provider journeys are organised and paid for by families directly with the provider.
See it for yourself
Here is what our students got up to on a recent College journey:
Getting started and fees
Talk it through. Discuss the Award as a family, then have your child see the Award Leader to confirm the Level they are eligible for and what it involves. Parents are very welcome to get in touch directly too.
Register and pay. Students register in the Online Record Book , selecting Sapphire Coast Anglican College as their Centre, and the registration fee is paid at sign-up. Please note: if a registration goes through without payment, the fee is added to your school fees account. Adventurous Journey camps are an additional cost.
Plan the Sections. Your child chooses an activity for Service, Physical Recreation and Skills, sets a SMART goal for each, and finds a suitable adult Assessor for every activity. It all goes into the ORB for the Award Leader’s approval before hours start counting.
Do the work and log it. Hours are logged in the ORB each week with proper sentences showing progress towards the goal. Then it is the Adventurous Journey, Assessor sign-offs, and a well-earned Award presentation.
Useful links
Duke of Ed Australia covers the national framework and FAQs. The NSW Office of Sport holds NSW-specific resources, forms and processes. The ORB is where students register and log every hour.
Ready for your child to take it on?
Questions about any Level, camps, fees or registration are always welcome. Contact our Duke of Ed Award Leader.
Sapphire Coast Anglican College is a licensed Duke of Ed Centre. Requirements shown reflect the Duke of Ed Australia Handbook as at June 2026.
