The Boys' Brigade Mountaineering Club

My company members need DofE Expedition Training. Can you help?

Many of our meets would provide excellent training for DofE expeditions, particularly for the Gold Level, as they involve activities and hill walking in wild country and opportunities can be given for young people to practise navigation skills. They also often involve an overnight camp.

So yes, bring them along. In the past few years we have also run a weekend Navigation Course which has been attended by Companies to help their members train for upcoming DofE Expeditions and we hope to extend the course by a day to cover other aspects of the expedition training syllabus. Look at our Events and Training sections for any suitable meets and courses currently in the pipeline.If you are interested in doing DofE expedition training with the BBMC, please complete a Contact Form with the subject "DofE Training".

Does the BBMC organise DofE expeditions?

Not at the moment, but we do have the skills and resources to organise Gold expeditions and will do so if there is demand from our members. If you are interested in doing a Gold expedition with the BBMC, please complete a Contact Form with the subject "DofE Expedition".

What about Expedition Assessment. Can you help?

Currently we only have two members of the Club who are able to assess DofE Expeditions but we hope that more members train to be Accredited Expedition Assessors. If you are supervising an expedition in wild country and cannot find an assessor, you can check whether the BBMC can provide one by completing a Contact Form with the subject "DofE Assessment".

Can the BBMC offer a Gold residential?

The Gold Residential has two main requirements. Firstly, it must last for at least five days with four nights away from home and secondly, it should be with a group of people unknown to the participant. One of our longer meets could count as a Residential, provided these two requirements are met. If you are interested in doing a Gold Residential with the BBMC, please complete a Contact Form with the subject "DofE Residential"

We are also considering organising a 5-day outdoor activity based residential specifically for Gold DofE participants.

I am an ex-member of the Boys' Brigade or a young officer in a Company that does not participate in the DofE Award Scheme. Can I do a DofE Award by becoming a member of the BBMC?

If you are over 18, you can join the BBMC and attend BBMC events without being accompanied by a BB Leader from your Company/Battalion. The BBMC is registered as a DofE Centre and we can register you as a Gold participant in our centre and as all activities are now logged and approved on-line, we can administer all the sections of the Award Scheme.

The BBMC has decided to focus on the Gold Award, as it is realtively easy to do Bronze and Silver Awards near your home location and many of the DofE Centres that offer Bronze and Silver do not offer Gold. We also have expertise to train and organise expeditions in wild country, which is a requirement for Gold expeditions. Finally, Gold is a usually the most appropriate level for anyone aged between 18 and 25. If you have not completed Bronze and Silver, this does not matter. You can do Gold as a direct entrant. It just takes 6 months longer (a total of 18 months) than it would if you had gained a Silver Award. You must however complete the award before your 25th birthday. If you are interested in doing a Gold DofE Award with the BBMC, please complete a Contact Form with the subject "DofE Award".