I remember the excitement of a group of us, as teenagers planning our days route at Derwent water in The Lake District fell walking using a compass and maps. It was strange to do the journey without teachers or guides but taught us independence & importance of teamwork at an early age. The skill I learned doing the DOFE was Ballroom and Latin American dancing and I went on to do silver medals , my team mate / friend went on to do her gold dancing award, also we remain firm friends 50 plus years later. I volunteered to do youth work, the went on to help set up a local youth club as a volunteer and became a teacher working with teenagers.

I wanted to continue doing the silver then gold DOFE but at that time doingGCSEs and working Saturdays it just was not possible. I was proud to achieve my bronze medal and have kept it.

The scheme taught me how to be independent, resilient and to be able to trust that I can learn skills, and volunteer also showed me from an early age that I am able to contribute to team efforts.

It’s a great scheme that has stood the test of time and I’m grateful that Prince Philip put the scheme in place to allow opportunities for all youngsters to develop self belief, usefulness, team skills and independence.