How it all began

The history of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Where it all began – Kurt Hahn’s vision

The origins of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award date back to the 1920s – a time of social upheaval when new approaches to education were being sought. At the centre of it all was a man with an extraordinary idea: Dr Kurt Hahn, a German educator, visionary and staunch advocate of values-based education.

Hahn was convinced that education should not be limited to the mere transfer of knowledge. It must enable young people to take responsibility, overcome crises, stand up for themselves and others, and actively support fundamental community values. For him, it was clear that character is not formed in the classroom alone, but in real life – through experience, challenge and community.

Together with Prince Max von Baden, he founded the Schule Schloss Salem school on Lake Constance in 1920 – one of the first schools to implement a holistic educational concept. Hahn’s goal was to prepare young people not only for academic achievement, but also for social responsibility and democratic participation. Personalities such as Robert Bosch supported this reform pedagogy ideologically and recognised the importance of an ethically based education for a stable, free society.

After the National Socialists seized power, Hahn, as an avowed democrat and opponent of the regime, was forced to leave Germany. He continued his work in exile in Britain, having previously studied at Oxford.

Hahn’s goal was always to reach as many young people as possible. After introducing the Gordonstoun Badge at Gordonstoun in 1934 as a focus for extracurricular activities, the decisive breakthrough came in 1936 with the Moray Badge, in which all boys in the county were now allowed to participate. The badge comprised six parts (including swimming/lifesaving, athletics and expeditions, but not yet service and skills), three age groups and, in each age group, standard and silver levels.

At a headteachers’ conference in Oxford in January 1938, Hahn finally presented the idea of a nationwide County Badge with the four elements we know today. This was taken up by counties such as Hertfordshire, but the Second World War prevented it from spreading further.

The war year 1941 saw the founding of another of Hahn’s creations. Together with shipowner Laurence Holt, he founded the first ‘Outward Bound School’ in Aberdovey, on the west coast of Wales, where the County Badge handbook served as the basis for four-week courses for students, mostly aged 16 to 20.

The idea of a youth achievement badge was revived in 1954 when Hahn asked Prince Philip for support for a new attempt. Hahn convened a committee to design a national programme based on the earlier badges. The result was the introduction of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in 1956, with Sir John Hunt, leader of the first successful Mount Everest expedition, as its director.

The programme quickly spread to other countries, and in 1988 the global programme was formally established in Australia. Today, the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation oversees compliance with the principles, recognises national issuers, provides a platform for discussion and communication, and hosts the International Secretariat in London.

Since 1956, the Award has developed into the world’s leading development programme for young people. What once began in Great Britain has become a global movement: today, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is active in over 130 countries and has encouraged millions of young people to realise their potential – regardless of their background, education or social circumstances.

In Germany, several organisations that were already working with the programme under the direct supervision of the International Secretariat founded the National Award Office in 1994. In 1996, it was recognised by the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Culture and Sport as an independent youth welfare organisation and by the world programme as the German programme publisher. One of the Award Centres is Schule Schloss Salem, where it all began in 1920.

Ten years after the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award was founded, Hahn established the international school movement United World Colleges (UWC), which sees education as an instrument of peace between cultures.