DofE Gold Award holders were guests of honour in the Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh welcomed 600 Gold DofE Award holders to the Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse – recognising their incredible achievement.

Article Source: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
Last Updated: 8 July 2024 11:23

• Celebrations come as a record-breaking 20,144 young people started their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) last year in Scotland.

• Celebrity supporters JJ Chalmers, Laura Young, Sheli McCoy, Joshua Adeyemi and Mel Young shared their inspiring stories

Friday 5th July 2024:

Around 600 Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award holders were guests of honour in the Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse on Friday 5th July 2024, for a very special event to mark their achievements.

These young people, each attended with up to two guests, have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to complete their Gold DofE in schools, community organisations, youth groups and workplaces, all over the UK.

The Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse was transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting, and garden games and activities. Attendees also had the chance to hear from famous DofE Award holders and inspirational speakers.

Friday’s celebration saw The Duke of Edinburgh, who received his own Gold Award from his father Prince Philip at St James’s Palace in 1986, congratulate attendees in a speech from a stage brought into the Gardens. The Duke also met Award holders, hearing about the positive impact their DofE has had on them.

TV Presenter JJ Chalmers delivered an inspiring speech, alongside 19-year-old Sophie Bathgate, who celebrated her own Gold Award achievement today.

Remembering her DofE, Sophie said: "For me, it was the expedition that was the most challenging, as our leaders pushed us to walk long and hard routes, even climbing a Munro on day three. However, looking back I am proud of what I accomplished and the memories I made. The phrase “type two fun” was repeated religiously throughout our expedition. Type one being enjoying something at the time, while type two means only knowing how much fun you had when looking back. I didn’t understand it fully at the time as I struggled through harsh weather conditions and aching body parts, but now I realise just how much I enjoyed the good despite the challenges.”

Sophie, from Dingwall in The Highlands, completed her Gold DofE Award with Aban Outdoor, an outdoor education charity and award-winning social enterprise, based in Inverness.

Breaking Down Barriers

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been focusing on breaking down barriers to give as many young people as possible the chance to do their DofE, working with more schools in deprived areas, further education colleges, community organisations, prisons and young offender institutions, and centres supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities.

The charity recently announced record-breaking participation numbers, with 32,675 young people actively taking part in 2023/24 - with participants contributing an astonishing 318,006 hours of volunteering.

As young people navigate the after-effects of the pandemic, access to developmental opportunities beyond the classroom, like the DofE, are vital to help them have fun, discover new passions, build their self-belief and gain skills employers value – like teamwork, problem-solving and leadership.

A Gold DofE Award is a major achievement – young people spend at least 12 months honing new skills and talents, planning and completing an expedition and residential, and volunteering for a cause they are passionate about.

Ruth Marvel, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: "The young people here have achieved something exceptional and it is wonderful to see them celebrating together, sharing their experiences and hearing their aspirations for the future. The DofE is all about proving to yourself just what you are capable of, and these young people have showed the world that their potential is limitless. I can’t wait to see what they go on to do next.

“As a charity, we’re working hard to give as many young people as possible the chance to have a DofE experience and we're delighted to announce that last year 330,948 young people started a DofE Award throughout the whole of the UK - another record-breaking year. This growth in participation shows just how much appetite there is amongst young people for enrichment and development opportunities beyond formal education and, together with our partners, we are determined to keep extending our reach until every young person has access to these types of life-changing experiences."

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DofE Gold Award holders were guests of honour in the Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh welcomed 600 Gold DofE Award holders to the Gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse – recognising their incredible achievement.

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