Become an Award Leader
Are you already a trained Award Leader or just curious? We have compiled important information for your role as an Award Leader here. This is in addition to the information in the Award Leader OneDrive folder.
Participation in a one-day programme course is a prerequisite for accompanying participants as an Award Leader and using the Online Record Book.
Please register by entering the programme code on the registration form on the programme page.
The participation fee is 37.50 Euro per person (75 Euro per person if you teach in a private educational institution).
Presentation for schools Training - dates & registration
Program Materials and Resources
What resources are available?
- Access to the Award Leader Folder via OneDrive: Shared via e-mail after the program course and linked at the bottom of each newsletter
- Newsletter: Monthly update with news and helpful information (you will be automatically assigned to the newsletter once you took part in our Award Leader Training; there is also the possibility to sign up for it through our contact page – please keep in mind that the newsletter will only be sent out to accredited Award Leaders; there is also an archive of newsletters in our Award Leader Folder)
- Manuals: International Award Leader handbook in German and English; German Handbook created by Klaus Vogel and Barbara Oehl
- Program start: Information for parents, participants, assessors, and presentations (see ALF 01_How to Start)
- Mentoring: Mentoring guide, stage planner and target method (see ALF 02_How to Mentoring)
- Expedition: Expedition guide, 10 requirements, declaration of consent as templates, route cards …; at the Gold level participation in the Assessor course for wilderness areas;
- School development: development plan, annual calendar, templates for SWOT analysis and concept
- Public relations: “Proud to Deliver”-logo for your homepage, Brand material in the OneDrive folder, templates for press releases
- Information on the Online Record Book: Tutorial-Playlist on YouTube, ORB manuals regularly updated on the ORB itself
- Ordering the Awards: email to [email protected]
- You can also find a small selection of helpful materials here:
Create a program concept
How can I develop a good program concept or further develop our existing one?
The advantage of the Award is that it looks a little different at every educational institution because it can be optimally adapted to local conditions. This means that at the beginning of your Duke journey you create a viable program concept that fits your organization.
Where can I find support?
- During the course, we will work together to develop the foundations for an initial concept and you will be given access to helpful materials (see ALF 04_How to School Development).
- Our regional managers are available for further consultations.
- We will be happy to arrange a feedback meeting if required.
- Exchange ideas with Award Leaders in the community or at face-to-face meetings.
- Discover best practice examples on our page “Who offers the Award”
Tasks and Time
The needed resources depend on your program concept, the size of the team, the number of participants, the levels offered, the type of expeditions and the structures of your organization.
The following areas of responsibility and time resources can be identified for an Award Leader:
- Participation in the course: 1 day (creation of program concept and annual calendar, registration in the ORB)
- Planning and organization: approx. 8 hours for recruiting and onboarding participants, information events, parents’ evenings
- Mentoring: 1 hour per week in person or via the app
- Teaching all training content relevant to the expedition: approx. 8h
- Carrying out the trial expeditions: min. 1 day and 1 night
- Conducting the final expedition: 2 days/1 night for bronze; 3 days/2 nights for silver; 4 days/3 nights for gold
- Completion: approx. 3 hours for approval, ordering and presentation of the Awards
Network for Award Leaders
You have various opportunities to meet other Award Leaders:
- at Stammtische in your region
- at the annual national network meeting
- in the Award Leader Community
- in regional WhatsApp groups (write to us!)
- through local cooperation between educational institutions
Involvement in the association
Would you like to actively support and have a say in our association’s work? Then you can become a member of the Duke Award e.V.
Send us the signed membership application form to [email protected]
Membership application
Expedition Support
Experience has shown that the knowledge we impart through our training courses and manuals is sufficient to successfully prepare for, lead, and evaluate expeditions. To ensure that the special bonds formed between Award Leaders and participants during expeditions carry over into everyday school life, we recommend that program providers organize expeditions independently. Ideally, students should be supported in planning expeditions on their own. If expedition equipment can be borrowed from friends or acquaintances or has already been purchased by a school, expeditions can be planned in such a way that they incur minimal costs. Ideally, an expedition area in the immediate vicinity that is easily accessible by public transportation should be selected. If an arrangement can be made with a forester or farmer for an overnight stay, this is generally preferable to a campground and also saves on fees.
However, especially for program providers with a large number of participants, it can make sense to seek support in organizing expeditions. Many funding programs for schools in socioeconomically challenging situations can be used to finance experiential education activities.
Those interested in honing their practical expedition skills or seeking assistance in organizing their expeditions may contact the following organizations, which are licensed by us. Please note that these organizations act on their own behalf:
Need a Gold Expedition?
In the UK, there are several providers accredited by DofE UK as “Activity Providers” to supervise Gold Expeditions. So if you still need to complete your Gold Expedition and don’t have a program provider—such as a school that runs the Duke program and can supervise your participation—why not look into whether family and friends might be willing to sponsor your participation in the Gold Expedition in the UK, or if you can earn the necessary funds yourself?
We can recommend Adventure Expeditions, for example. Here’s a quote from one of our Gold participants who completed her Gold Expedition with Adventure Expeditions in 2026:
“It was truly an amazing experience, and the expedition showed me once again just how much of an impact the Duke Award has on me and how it can change and help me grow as a person. The last few days were pretty exhausting, and I pushed myself to my limits a few times. The route was much more demanding than I had expected, and overall, the Gold Expedition was significantly more challenging than my previous expeditions.
But in the end, we made it, and that’s a really great feeling. I met some wonderful new people, and I’ll definitely never forget this experience.
If anyone else is looking for a way to complete their Gold Expedition, I can definitely recommend Adventure Expeditions. Everything went really smoothly, and the team was very friendly and provided great support with travel arrangements, the hotel, and so on.” (Ida M., Gold participant, 2026)
