Sheffield youngsters attend London palace

The youngsters attended St Jame's Palace in London where celebrity Natalie Coyle presented their awards, after they had spoken with Trustee for The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, The Earl of Wessex.

The pupils to be presented were: Thomas Buchan, Lincoln Greatrick, James Greatrick,Alexander Grech, all of Birkdale School, Kathryn Bush, of High Storrs School, Olivia Wiles, of Notre Dame Catholic High School, Kathy Lin and John McDowell, of Silverdale School.

John McDowell, who was one of the youngsters to be awarded, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of undertaking my Gold Award with my friends and have found the skills I developed have helped me to progress in my engineering ambitions.

"I’d recommend anyone with the opportunity to participate.”

Jules Walker, representing Sheffield Futures Duke of Edinburgh Operating Authority, said: “ It was a privilege to be a part of the young people’s Gold Award ceremony and listen to so many positive comments about the impact the DofE Programme has had for the participants.

"Many spoke about the confidence taking part had instilled in them and the satisfaction they gained from taking on new challenges. There is a great deal of hard work associated with achieving a Gold DofE Award but the rewards in terms of self development and community impact cannot be understated.”

There are currently over 300,000 young people taking part in a DofE 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.

To find out more visit www.DofE.org