Holyrood visit for young people to receive Duke of Edinburgh awards
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Young people from the Banff area have been presented with their Duke of Edinburgh awards during a ceremony at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.
The work to obtain the awards was done either through Banff Academy or the Girl Guides.
Thirty-six young people supported by Aberdeenshire Council attended the presentation in the gardens of the palace, Edinburgh.
They received their awards from guest presenter sports broadcaster and journalist Alison Walker, after sharing their experiences with HRH The Earl of Forfar.
The Earl of Forfar congratulated the group from Aberdeenshire on their successes and heard about their award journeys, which took each young person 12-18 months of hard work and dedication.
Those achieving a gold award will have volunteered, learned a skill, taken part in a physical activity, taken part in a week-long residential and have planned and undertaken an expedition in wild country.
Widely acknowledged as the world’s leading achievement award for young people, Duke of Edinburgh programmes enable any young person, aged 14-24, to develop key skills for life and work, such as confidence, commitment and team working.
Douglas Findlay, who is the Duke of Edinburgh manager for Aberdeenshire Council, said: “My team and I are very proud of the young folk and their fantastic achievement.
"A gold award proves these youngsters are committed, adventurous, skilful, physically fit and have contributed to their community.
"It’s testament also to the commitment and energy of our band of dedicated volunteers who generously give their valuable time.”
As well as recognising the great achievement of the young people, Fred Belcher, who has recently retired at the age of 86 from being an Aberdeenshire Council Expedition Assessor, was thanked for his many years of valued volunteering and received a Long Service Certificate.
Councillor Gillian Owen chairwoman of Aberdeenshire’s education and children’s services committee said: “This is a brilliant programme and I’m so pleased for all of the young people who have achieved their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award.
"Thank you to Fred for volunteering your time and expertise over the years, and thanks too to the many volunteers across Aberdeenshire who go above and beyond to help our young people realise many fantastic achievements.”
Nearly 21,000 young people started a Duke of Edinburgh Award in Scotland last year 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 about the Duke of Edinburgh scheme visit www.DofE.org
