Mr Burchell and Miss Clark had the pleasure of accompanying four students who had undertaken and passed their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award to Buckingham Palace earlier this week. The four boys had all been senior cadets, and had been cadets right from the beginning. Four years ago they were told that if they stayed in the Sixth Form and did the Gold Award, they would be able to go to the palace and take a parent with them. After many weeks of training, a miserable practice expedition and five days of assessment on Dartmoor they had made it.
Monday morning and here they were at the palace gates soon entering the front gate and into the gardens behind the palace. Plenty of photographs were taken and opportunities to listen to important guests such as Tim Peake the astronaut, and then the Duke of Edinburgh himself. One of the boys even spoke with him briefly. It was an amazing experience for them and their families, and we were so proud of their achievements. This is the first time in the history of the school that students have completed the Gold Award. As the Duke said, they are now in an elite group of people with their futures ahead of them. This year we have another group finishing the Gold Award and hope to continue with other groups in the future.
