Gold DofE Award Residential
Gold DofE Award Residential
Ready for an unforgettable volunteering experience?
Are you up for an amazing volunteering experience with Scout Adventures? Come and spend a week supporting our centres at Broadstone Warren (East Sussex), Gilwell Park (North London), Great Tower (Lake District) or Youlbury (Oxfordshire).
If you’re a UK Scout Member aged 18+ (at the start of the placement) and working towards your Gold DofE Award/King’s Scout Award, or if you’d simply like to experience a week of volunteering with us, we’d love to hear from you! You’ll spend the week outdoors, supporting our centres in a variety of roles, and making a real difference to the lives of young people. It’s a chance to gain new skills, meet new people, and be part of something unforgettable.
There is no charge to attend the residential. Participants only need to cover the cost of travel to and from their chosen centre. All food and a camping pitch are provided, however, participants must bring their own camping equipment.
This opportunity is only open to UK applicants. If you are based overseas, please take a look at our Residential Volunteering programmes.
This exciting opportunity is a 7-day, 6-night residential (arriving Sunday, volunteering Monday–Friday, departing Saturday). Our 2026 dates are as follows:
Summer 2026 dates at Broadstone Warren, Gilwell Park, Great Tower and Youlbury
Sunday 26th - Saturday 1st August 2026
Sunday 2nd - Saturday 8th August 2026
Sunday 9th - Saturday 15th August 2026
Sunday 16th - Saturday 22nd August 2026
Sunday 23rd - Saturday 29th August 2026
The deadline for completed applications is Friday 1st May 2026.
Please note: to fulfil DofE criteria, you should not complete the residential with people you already know.
If you have any questions about this opportunity, please get in touch via email: [email protected]
The Programme
| Bring the Adventure | You'll assist in delivery of daily activities with the opportunity to shadow/assist our instructing team with instructed sessions. |
| Leave your mark | Improve the site you are based at by picking a project to help leave it a better place than when you arrived. |
| Caring for customers | Help us to deliver great customer service by helping to run the camp shop and answer questions at reception. |
| Take the lead! | Have the opportunity of running the Summer Squad for the day, liaising with the Duty Manager and organising the team. |
| Cook up a storm | Get to show your cooking skills and cater for the staff team for a day. Don’t panic if you can’t cook, there are other volunteers who can help you. |
| Meet new people | As well as the others on your residential, our team is made up of international volunteers from around the world. |
| Safety first | Keep the site safe for campers – working alongside the regular team assisting with daily tasks like cleaning of toilet blocks, accommodation buildings and emptying rubbish bins. |
| Explore the local area | Make the most of your free time and explore what the local area has to offer. |
| Sleep well | You will be staying in a camping zone, set up specifically for your use and all meals will be provided - you will take it in turns to cater for yourselves. |
| Be prepared | We'll provide you with a Summer Squad T-shirt, but you'll need to bring plenty of changes of clothing suitable to the environment, as well as a tent, sleeping bag, towel and toiletries. |
Apply now and join the team!
Our 2026 placements are taking place throughout the summer holidays at Broadstone Warren, Gilwell Park, Great Tower and Youlbury. This exciting opportunity is a 7-day, 6-night residential (arriving Sunday, volunteering Monday–Friday, departing Saturday). The deadline for completed applications is Friday 1st May 2026.
If this sounds like you, we'd love to hear from you!
Our adventure centres
Scout Adventures is owned and operated by the Scouts Association. For over 100 years, we've delivered opportunities and activities to millions of young people. We're founded on our famous Scout values and are proud offer our expertise to a new generation of young people.
A little bit about each centre:
Broadstone Warren: Set within the beautiful Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Broadstone Warren offers 400 acres of adventure in the Ashdown Forest, close to the town of East Grinstead and just an hour's train journey from central London.
Gilwell Park: Close to the capital yet surrounded by tranquil woodland, Gilwell Park is world-famous for its Scouting heritage, stunning setting and diverse range of activities.
Great Tower: Located near to the shores of Windermere in the heart of the Lake District, Great Tower is one of our most scenic venues, near Bowness, Windermere and within easy reach of Kendal.
Youlbury: A beautiful woodland centre and the world's oldest permanent Scout Camp, Youlbury is just three miles from the historic city of Oxford.
The majority of our team are volunteers. Supported each year by a small team of permanent staff, 10 - 15 residential volunteers travel from all over the world to live at our centres for a placement of 6 to 12 months and learn how to instruct adventurous activities to young people. Our volunteers are at the heart of what we do and how we do it - and as a member of our Summer Squad you'll get the chance to experience the magic they bring to us. You never know it might even make you want to come back as a residential volunteer yourself!