DofE was one of the best experiences and memories I ever had at school. I started this epic journey a little over 10 years ago with my Bronze award and then went onto Silver and Gold award. DofE was a big thing at my school, which was fantastic as they were really geared up for it, had the staff and support.

For my residential I helped on a camp on Brownsea Island, as a Guide myself volunteering at the place where Scouting and Guiding began, was a honour and something I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise.

My fondest memories were of the expeditions. Navigation was a strength of mine and gave me a chance to excel. Most of our expeditions took place in the Peak District with our final Gold expedition to Dartmoor. The friendly rivalry between groups spurred us on. I remember the final Gold expedition, there were 2 groups, one either side of this river and the finish line was at the bridge, we spotted each other and all started running towards this bridge.. I like to think we won, but to be honest I think we called it a draw in the end!

The talks of our expeditions are still a major conversation topic within my friendship group today, many of which I’m still close with from school, despite 3 years of uni and 2 years living in Canada. I like to think DofE had a major part of bringing us closer together and made our friendship what it is today. Joe, Jimmy and I all received our award at the same time and we made sure we all went to the same ceremony because the award meant so much to us. It was a beautiful day when we went to Buckingham Palace, taking our very proud mums with us. I cannot thank the Duke of Edinburgh enough for setting up this award, and as many many others over the world have said in the last few days, DofE has changed my life - just amazing! I wish I could go back and do it all again. My friends and I still enjoy walking, being outside and camping. We continue to do similar “expedition style” trips and hope to do more in the future.