Massive thank you to our Challenge supporters!

The DofE Scotland team would like to say an enormous thank you to our DofE Challenge supporters for their help, guidance and donations towards our DofE Diamond Challenge.

Vango kindly donated dry bags, trek mats, gel burners and Vango buffs to our Challenge. We're sporting the buffs and dry bags in the photo below.

All the kit was essential to our Challenge – not least the buffs for helping to keep the midges off!! Vango’s long been a supporter of the DofE and a range of their products feature in the Expedition Kit List. Like us, they are celebrating a big anniversary this year – 50 years – so our congratulations to them and our thanks for their support of our Challenge.

Outlook Adventures were also essential to our DofE Challenge. They were kind enough to donate the time of two extremely experienced canoe guides who helped us to navigate the Spey descent. We could not have done it without the help of Dave and Jerry who kept us afloat. Outlook Adventures is an Approved Activity Provider of DofE expeditions. They also grabbed some brilliant photos of us in action.

We also have to thank everyone who has made a donation. As a team we’ve now raised over £3,000!!!! We’re amazed by the generosity of our friends, family and other supporters who have helped us to fund raise so much. Everything raised will go towards our work with disadvantaged young people, enabling to change their life chances by taking part in DofE programmes. If you'd like to make a donation, you can do so on JustGiving.

Moray and our DofE Challenge

We chose Moray to end our DofE Challenge for a very particular reason. The DofE Award was inspired by the Moray Badge, founded by Kurt Hahn at Gordonstoun School. 

We're really excited to celebrate the Scottish roots of the DofE Award by travelling through Moray on our DofE Challenge. You can see these roots celebrated at the DofE Commemorative Stone project in Fochabers. The stones mark each of the six decades of the DofE. The whole project was run by local DofE participants. Be sure to visit!

Lots of Moray participants are taking up a DofE Challenge. Iain Sword, who collected his Gold Award at Holyrood Palace earlier this summer, is one of the them. 

Iain's come a long way as part of his DofE. He has High Functioning Autism and he said that doing his DofE has "definitely built up my confidence and helped me in social situations in general."

For his DofE Challenge, Iain choose walking the West Highland Way. 

1 Week to Go!

There's only 1 week to go until we start our DofE Diamond Challenge. You might have forgotten what it is, so here's a video to refresh you.



It's been so long since we came up with the idea that we've nearly forgotten ourselves!

We had a meeting this week to work out the details and all of us are still trying to wrap our heads around the first day - an ascent on the bike as high as a Munro!

We're really looking forward to it though. It's going to a be a great time to build our relationships and our muscles and show off the great things that being involved with DofE can help people achieve.

Don't forget to sign up for your own Challenge.

Guest Blog from Julie

Here's the latest installment from our great supporter, Julie McElroy.

The last month in the build-up to my DofE Scotland Diamond Challenges has been about three attributes, preparation, investment and commitment.

Delighted to say everything on track to far with Tall Ship adventure in June which is literally days away and I am organised and packed! That’s explained how much I am looking forward to it and taking the work of DofE Diamond Challenge out to sea!

The Tall Ship which will I be sailing on is called the Lord Nelson with the Jubilee Sailing Trust. It promote the integration of people of all physical abilities through the challenge and adventure of Tall Ship sailing.

The Tall Ship will be challenging in every respect, rising during the night to start my Watch, cleaning toilets, pulling ropes. I will have the opportunity to develop seamanship skill, learning about steering the ship, navigation and climbed the rigging to work with the sails.  The weather is likely to be unpredictable too so the mentality will be put to the test too.

Also for the month of May, I have spent time sorting out my 2nd DofE Challenge which I will be teaming up a true sportsman. He will be reveal in my next installment! One of the obvious changes in my disability over the years is the complexity to handle my balance and spasticity. These combinations are making it challenging for me to undertake a physical climb as my body is coated spasticity entwined my endurance. Rab has seen it over the last 15 months since we've met so he knows how to adapt, what need to be done and carry on as normal!

Rab (Robert) Bell previously served fifteen years in the Army (Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders).  Since leaving, Rab has gone onto crave various careers and one them in the outdoor pursuits and is qualified in many areas of the outdoor with young people at the forefront of his fulfillment. He is a qualified National Navigation Awards Scheme (NNAS) course provider and assessor. Also a qualified Summer Mountain Leader registered with Mountain Training Association and accredited Duke of Edinburgh Expedition Assessor up to Gold level.  He is also an adult instructor with the Army Cadet Force (ACF).

Over the few months, Rab and I have worked to assess what I can do, and Rab is lending his support these Diamond Challenge ‘Julie’s challenge is her disability, the complexity of her walking gait and of course, her deafness.  Julie can tire quite quickly due to the physical exertion on her body, this means not only will it be physically demanding but mentally too. However knowing of Julie's previous achievements in the outdoor pursuits arena, I know her determination to succeed will get her through’.

I have been keeping Barry Fisher, Director of DofE Scotland up to date of my preparation for the Diamond Challenges, and he simply summed it up of what I have to go through and give pencil considerations to everything, “Wow – amazing to hear just what a difference the climb down makes in contrast to the climb up – but, as we have grown to know, your preparation for your challenge is impressive”.

In the next installment you will be able to download my Tall Ship log and I will reveal my 2nd DofE Challenge with the Scottish sportsman!

In the meantime, if you feel inspired by my DofE Diamond Challenge appeal, please donate generously to help more young people access and complete the DofE Award in Scotland.

Dundee Challengers

The Senior Management Team at Dundee City Council completed their DofE Diamond Challenge last weekend. The team cycled 26 miles around the Dundee Green Circular.

Dundee City Council is the first Local Authority team to complete their Challenge. A big congratulations goes out to them all. We've now put their picture up on our 'DofE Challengers' wall in the Scotland office.

All the money raised from their Challenge will go towards assisting young people in Scotland - young people like Nicole. You can hear more about her story in the video below.



Feeling inspired? Sign up for your own DofE Diamond Challenge! https://dofediamondchallenge.org/

HRH The Countess of Wessex Chooses her Challenge

HRH The Countess of Wessex has announced her DofE Diamond Challenge today. HRH will be covering 445 miles beginning at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh and finishing up at Buckingham Palace in London over seven days in September.


Us in the DofE Scotland office are really inspired by HRH's Challenge. We're doing our own cycle Challenge, but it's not half as far as this. If you're feeling inspired too, then sign up to do your own DofE Diamond Challenge: https://dofediamondchallenge.org/. Choose a Challenge, Change a Life!

Guest Blog - Julie's DofE Challenge Journey

As we prepare for our Challenge (we have new dates, but more on that later) we thought you may be interested in getting a flavour of other Challenges taking place across Scotland.

In addition to being a disabilities campaigner, Julie McElroy is also a member of our Scottish Advisory Committee. She's a Gold Award holder herself and a keen supporter of DofE Scotland.

Here's her DofE Diamond Challenge Journey

It is a pleasure to share my DofE Diamond Challenge Journey with you all and hope that you will be inspired to do your own Challenge before December 2016.

As a recipient of the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, I know how much the DofE taught me about myself. It is the catalyst for the young people.

Over the coming months, I am going to embark on three DofE Diamond Challenges. Why have I chosen three Challenges? Because behind each Challenge has a story to tell and they will all interlink into my DofE journey that I have managed to carve out. It is going to be tough – even one person who is involved in my other two challenges cited, “a lot of factors for you to consider before you take on this challenge Julie”.

I am also planning to record video diaries of this journey so you see some of the people I meet along the way and many whom are strong advocates of the DofE in Scotland. 

My first DofE Diamond Challenge is embarking on Tall Ship Sailing voyage in June with Jubilee Sailing Trust. It is literally only six weeks to go and have just passed my medical assessment for this once in a lifetime experience to start my DofE Diamond Challenges.

Life on the high seas is something few landlubbers will ever experience and I am so looking forward to going on a Tall Ship Sailing voyage. The adrenaline rush is going through me but I am slightly nervous my disability will be more noticeable. In recent years, my balance associated my Cerebral Palsy has become unsteady with hyperextension in my legs proving difficult to release the muscles tone. The main challenge will be grabbing onto things and make sure I don’t fall overboard! 

The overall experience is going to be exhilarating, challenging and rewarding working as a voyage crew to man a Tall Ship for five days around Scotland. It will have it challenges in terms of the Scottish weather at this time of year also! 

I will be keeping a Tall Ship log and share the peril of sea life with you all when I arrive back on dry land so you will have an opportunity to read it. In the meantime, I will update you days before I embark on this Tall Ship voyage in June.

I hope my DofE Challenges inspire you to donate generously to ensure today’s disadvantaged young people are given the chance to go forward, start their DofE and propel them on a pathway to achieving their aspirations and their DofE Award.

Thanks to Julie for sharing her story and we look forward to her next update. You can donate to Julie's Challenge here. Start your own Challenge today by visiting the DofE Diamond Challenge website.