Congratulations to Joshua Etheridge, Nicky Carter and Charlotte Croft! They visited Buckingham Palace to receive their DofE Gold awards from Heston Blumenthal.
Over the last eight years it has always been very rewarding to attend presentation evenings and see scores of DofE participants receive their hard earned awards.
However, at this special presentation, only one member of the family was allowed to attend with their child. Buckingham Palace has very strict rules on who visits and which photos are taken.
It was a proud moment for the families of Joshua Etheridge, Nicky Carter and Charlotte Croft as they visited Buckingham Palace to receive their awards from Heston Blumenthal OBE. The Celebrity Chef presented the certificates on behalf of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
He told the Gold Award holders: “The DofE is an amazing experience for young people to take part in – not only do you gain a sense of achievement, you also learn a lot about yourself and what you’re capable of. With technology increasingly reducing our patience levels and arguably isolating us from the physical world, the DofE is an important cornerstone of young adulthood that allows you to express yourself, believe in yourself and build confidence.”
A huge thank you to Gary Birkin and Elaine Bunfield for all of the time and effort they put in to run the Gold DofE at Bluecoat Academy.
— Mr Garbutt, DofE Coordinator