What counts as a DofE Residential? Can you go with a friend, how long does it last, and what are the other rules?
The Residential section is a key part of the Gold DofE award, and is not required for Bronze or Silver. It’s an exciting opportunity to meet new people and broaden your interests whilst away from home.
There are fairly strict rules on what qualifies as a DofE Residential. The core requirements are that you must be away from home for five days, taking part in activities with a group of people you’re not familiar with.
The 12 official rules on what qualifies as a Residential
There are 12 official criteria for a programme to qualify for the Residential section of Gold DofE. The general emphases of these are on being away from home for five days in an unfamiliar environment, and meeting new people with whom you share the overall experience.
Below are the 12 criteria, some of which I have slightly rephrased for simplicity. If you would like to read the original DofE-issued PDF, you can find it here.
Away from home for a minimum of 5 days and 4 nights
A specific course where the group all share the same aim and experience
Led by an organised group, registered charity, or Approved Activity provider
Broadens experience and interests
The total size of the group on the residential camp is at least 5
The accommodation is in an environment unfamiliar to you
Evenings are spent with the group (could be organised activity, socialising or cooking)
You are going alone or, if with a few friends, as part of a much larger group of people who are unknown to you
You receive some training or briefing before departure
Point 8 is also true for the rest of the group you will be joining
The residential is not part of your DofE Expedition section, or separate work experience or internship
Your Licenced Organisation must approve the residential before you commit to any expense or depart
So can you go with a friend? And if so, how many?
You can go away with a friend. According to the DofE criteria, you can go with up to ‘a few’ friends, as long as you make up only part of a much larger group of people unknown to you.
Clearly, ‘a few’ is not a specific term, and nor is ‘much larger group’, so you’ll have to use common sense to decide whether or not your friendship group is too big. Also do bear in mind that the same friendship group of say, 3 people, would be ok in an overall group of 20, but definitely not in an overall group of 6.
My personal (and slightly arbitrary) interpretation of the rules are this: ‘a few’ is no more than 3 friends, and ‘much larger group’ is 5 times the size of your friendship group. This would mean if you go with 1 friend the overall group should be at least 10, if you go with 2 friends the overall group should be at least 15, and if you go with 3 friends the overall group should be at least 20. At more than 4 friends, I think you’re pushing the boundary of ‘a few’. (For my Residential I went with 3 of my friends in an overall group size of 42.)
You may (or may not) agree with my interpretation, but ultimately my opinion is not the one that is important to you. As stated in point 12 of the official criteria, a programme must be approved by your Licenced Organisation. If you are intending to go with a few friends, it’s worth referencing point 8 to help make your case.
How long does the Residential have to last?
As stated in the official DofE rules, the Residential must last for at least 5 days and 4 nights. You may still be wondering, though, what time does the camp need to start by on the first day and what time must it go until on the last day? And can the Residential be split over two weekends?
According to DofE, “each day should be a full day”. However, they do appreciate that people will have to travel and so the first and last days may be shorter than the others. Speaking about the last day of the Residential, DofE says “common sense is probably the best advice … [finishing at] 4pm would be fine, but 12pm or 1pm would not usually be.”
As for splitting the Residential over two weekends, the standard answer is no. As DofE points out, “if an activity can be done over one week, then that is the option that should be taken”. That said, there are exceptional circumstances in which this may be permitted. For example, if you have to leave a Residential camp halfway through you are allowed to count what you have already done, and finish the remaining days/nights at a later date.
You can also inquire to your Licenced Organisation about general flexibility if you have specific issues regarding care, medical, employment and/or cost, or if you’re preferred Residential would be an “exceptional, once in a lifetime opportunity that will never be available again.”
Can the Residential section be backdated?
The Residential section, as with the other sections of DofE, can be backdated by up to three months. You must have been at least 16 years old whilst on the Residential, and it must meet all the usual criteria.
In fact, some people who have recently completed a residential camp realise they have already completed one section of the Gold DofE Award, and only then become inspired to complete the rest of their DofE.
Examples of what wouldn’t qualify
School trip
There are a number of reasons why a school trip would not qualify. Firstly, while it is ok to join with up to a few friends, the vast majority of people must be strangers, including the staff. Additionally, a core aspect of the Residential is to provide an opportunity to meet and become friends with people of many different ages and backgrounds, which is something not usually possible from a school environment. DofE states very clearly, “school or youth group trips are not acceptable.”
The only exception to this would be if several schools join together to put on a Residential programme involving external, unknown staff. In addition, special measures must be taken to ensure students from different schools are always mixing, especially in the evenings and overnight.
University freshers’ week
Again, there are several issues with using a university freshers’ week as the Residential section of Gold DofE. Primarily, you cannot use your day-to-day work as an activity for a DofE section, and “university core activities fall into this”.
Another issue is that you must be away from home for your Residential section. Although your university accommodation during freshers’ week is a very new home, it is still your home.
Volunteer stewarding at a festival
While volunteer stewarding at a festival does meet some of the fundamental criteria, such as being away from home and going without people you know, DofE states specifically in reference to festival stewarding that “[you] do not learn enough new skills or spend enough time working with a set group of people on a shared activity for it to count.” Another concern is that on a Residential you should not have the ability to leave the programme to meet friends during free time.
However, in some rare cases (e.g. festivals run for a charitable cause), the activity may qualify “if it can be evidenced that the group stay, volunteer and socialise together, and don’t go off to see friends at the festival after their shift.” If you intend to use festival volunteering as your Residential, make sure to clear it with your Licenced Organisation first.