Kate receives Gold Award at St James's Palace
On Tuesday 26th November former Year 13 student Kate Baldwin attended St. James’s Palace, London, where she received her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award from celebrity adventurer, David Love. Teacher and Duke of Edinburgh Manager Amanda Kirby presented the group with their Gold Awards on behalf of Prince Edward Earl of Wessex. During the presentation the Earl of Wessex took the opportunity to congratulate groups on their successes and heard about the work the award winners had done to achieve their awards. Mrs Kirby said, “It was an intimate event where young people were rewarded for their hard work and dedication".
Recognition was also given to Mrs Kirby for her 19 years association with the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, when she was also presented with a long service award for her commitment to the award scheme.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award programmes enable any young person, aged 14-24, to develop key skills for life and work, such as confidence, commitment and team working. The Gold award takes participants approximately 12 to 18 months to achieve, and during this time they perform volunteering work, learn a new skill, improve their fitness and take part in a week-long residential course to plan and subsequently undertake an expedition in the countryside.
There are currently over 300,000 young people taking part in a Duke of Edinburgh programme across the UK through a variety of centres, including both state and independent schools, special schools, businesses, prisons, young offender institutions and youth groups.
Congratulations to Kate on her well deserved achievement, and also to Mrs Kirby, without whom many young people would not have had the opportunity to participate in this fantastic scheme.
To find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and how it enables young people to succeed, please visit www.DofE.org