A legacy of achievement

Stuart Hall, Deeping St James Councillor and Chair of the Signal Box Rebuild Group, recalls: ‘It was 60 years ago when I went to St James’s Palace to receive my Gold Award. I was a bit miffed, though, as a friend who had received his Gold a month earlier had gone to Buckingham Palace for his! As I was doing an apprenticeship in the Royal Air Force I was excused a Bronze Award. I was stationed at RAF Locking near Weston-super-Mare so both my longdistance walks were across Dartmoor, one in the lashing rain and the other walking down the road past Dartmoor Prison. For the public service element of the course, I became a blood donor. I preferred that to digging up an old lady’s back garden which was the other choice!’

Mike Newell’s (aka DJ Funky Fossil) love of music is widely known but is what is less well known that, as a teenager in 1969, that love was evident as he chose to play the trumpet as part of the tasks needed to gain Bronze in the DoE Award scheme. An expedition of 12 miles included the ascent of Dale Head in the Lake District and while his route finding was described as ‘fair’ his morale was ‘high’ – and thankfully for those of us who enjoy his music making now, it still is!

Camping on hard rocky surfaces in the Peak District, coming to grips with map reading and learning that perseverance really does pay off proved to be life-defining for Bronze and Gold Award achiever, Sophie Leggott: ‘It has undoubtedly given me the confidence, determination, motivational and communication skills that have sustained me while taking a degree in Geography at Lincoln University.’ On the way Holly Leggott Sophie Leggott friendships have been forged, memories made and a lifelong enthusiasm for the Awards created as Sophie looks forward to integrating this into her future when she takes up a teacher training position at AMVC. Heidi Latronico Ferris has been a Cub Scout leader for over 25 years and when she started to work in a local secondary school she wanted to get the students involved in something that could enrich their lives in the way that she had seen scouting do. So she volunteered as a DoE Award Scheme leader, becoming a coordinator and leading expeditions from Bronze to Gold. ‘With every young person comes their own personal challenge and struggle but at the end of their final expedition when they know they have overcome everything to gain the Award the sense of pride in their achievement in every single sense is overwhelming.’ Heidi has supported over 200 young people and has visited St James Palace where she was introduced to the Prince (pictured). ‘He was really genuine and knew all about me, the time he spent talking to the young people was heart-warming and he would ask what they had done and where they had gone on expedition. He asked if anyone had gone abroad and one said Wales. He laughed and said, ‘I think you’ll find that Wales is in the UK!’

Katy Mcdonald (née Hucker) took her Bronze Award while at The Deepings School in 1995-96. Her Dad, John, was a Drama teacher at the school at the time and as the Award scheme was run by teachers, John helped out where he could, taking his trailer tent up for the expedition in the Derbyshire Dales, around Dovedale. John Katy and John Hucker remembers: ‘While the kids were in tents the teachers were all snug in the trailer which conveniently had a fridge for white wine and we would cook a vat of chilli or similar and one of rice. It was very civilised.’ The family now all live in the North East but have fond memories of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and John testifies ‘They lived greater lives as a result.’

Beth Evans, former student at AMVC, remembers her DoE experience: ‘When I think back on working towards my DoE awards, the first thing that comes to mind is the practice expedition in the Lakes, where I slipped down a hill and the mountain rescue doctor was called out. It was scary at the time, but we were all fine in the end! It was in the days before mobiles, and having led school trips myself now, I can only imagine the stress we put the staff through (so sorry!)! Despite that challenging expedition, I think that everyone in my group continued and collected their Silver awards, which shows that we certainly built some resilience! I remember how we supported and encouraged each other as a group on that and future expeditions. I completed one volunteering activity doing dry-stone walling on Dartmoor with my friend Lucy. I don’t think we would have travelled across the country on our own at that age otherwise, so it gave us both confidence to travel and meet new people. Completing the DoE award gave me a sense of achievement and a love of being outdoors, and pushed me to do things I wouldn’t otherwise have done. I am grateful that I had the opportunity to take part.’

Deeping School Gold award candidate Hannah Wright at St James’ Palace with Mr Blessett and Mrs Williams who received their 25 and 15 years long service awards. Hannah completed Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Usually, the first thing that people think of when the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is mentioned is the expedition. This has taken our students to many different locations, including Rutland Water, the Peak District, the Yorkshire Dales, Snowdonia and the Lake District. We even took a group to Morocco!

As well as the expeditions students have to commit their time and efforts into learning new skills, physical activities and volunteering. Many have volunteered in the local community and we have seen new skills from stone masonry to stable management, as well as taking up new sports from the usual ball games to competitive kayaking and rock climbing. During recent lockdowns, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme introduced ‘DofE with a Difference’ meaning that participants could volunteer from home. This included activities such as fundraising for charity, mentoring siblings in their home learning and even arranging facetime chats with relatives and devising quizzes to keep up morale. As it was difficult to arrange expeditions last year, DofE created a new Certificate of Achievement for any participant who completed the volunteering, physical and skills sections, to keep their enthusiasm until the expeditions could be arranged (hopefully this coming summer).

We hope to introduce many more students to the Duke of Edinburgh’s award. It is a fantastic challenge for young people and the memories they make are priceless. We have seen young people grow in confidence and maturity, the further they progress in the scheme. What a legacy from The Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

Jack Hall (above) another Bronze to Gold candidate. The difference between accomplishing the awards is clear to see in his face (permission was given to use these photos).

Gold group at a very soggy checkpoint in the Lake District (with an equally soggy Mrs Williams)

Silver expedition group high above Dovedale White Peak