Whalley Range celebrates DofE success at Buckingham Palace ( Published: 20/05/2016)

At the event we were presented with a special plaque from the DofE Charity by celebrity supporter Hannah Cockroft, acknowledging the school’s commitment to running the DofE and thanking it for giving young people the opportunity to transform their lives.

The DofE is celebrating its Diamond Anniversary throughout 2016, having supported millions of young people in the UK and across the globe to achieve DofE Awards since it was founded in 1956. The prestigious Gold Award Presentation at Buckingham Palace is one of many memorable events taking place to celebrate 60 years of the Charity. Members of the Royal Family; HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, HRH The Earl of Wessex and HRH The Countess of Wessex, congratulated those that were present.

Whalley Range 11-18 High School has been delivering the DofE scheme for a number of years and since then, many of its young people have achieved a DofE Award after volunteering in their community, learning a skill, getting fit, going on an expedition and, for Gold, taking part in a week-long residential. Doing a DofE programme significantly impacts young people’s futures, enabling them to develop vital skills for life and work, such as confidence, commitment, resilience and team work.

Mrs E. Hole, Academy Headteacher (Sep 2013 – Aug 2020), attended the presentation. Speaking proudly about our involvement with the DofE, she said:

We were absolutely thrilled to be invited to Buckingham Palace to be awarded a plaque for our work on the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme. It was also very inspiring to meet Hannah Cockcroft MBE, a British wheelchair athlete specialising in sprint distances and Sophie, the Countess of Wessex.

To celebrate its 60th year, the Charity has launched the DofE Diamond Challenge. This one-off initiative allows people of all ages to take on a DofE inspired challenge and earn their Diamond Pin. As part of this, all Year 10 students from Whalley Range 11-18 High School have been entered and over 80 of them will take part in an expedition this weekend (21st May 2016).

Visit www.DofE.org for more information about the DofE, or to find out how you can support the Charity in its Diamond Anniversary year, go to www.DofEDiamondChallenge.org.