I completed my DofE Gold whilst at sixth form, in what now feels like many moons ago. I’d moved to a new school where everyone knew each other and I was the “new girl” and participating in DofE set me up with friends for life. The confidence and leadership skills that I have developed as result of the DofE and now carried on to my adult life are shaping the person I am today. I hold dear the memories of my volunteering for the hospice charity St Barnabas and the new love affair I have with yoga resulting from my residential in the Brecon Beacons.
DofE Gold is tough and pushed me physically and mentally and challenged my relationships with the friends in my group but the lessons we learned as a result and how to remain calm in a crisis are invaluable.
I am devastated to hear of the passing of the Duke but I do hope his legacy and reasoning for founding the DofE award continues for generations to come because it is a challenge I shall never regret taking on.