Firstly I apologise for perhaps wasting your time at my stage of life having never been involved previously. However, that is my point. I deeply regret never entering and achieving the gold award, that’s something I will always regret as long as I live. I was born and raised on a council estate in Yorkshire and I went to catholic led schools. Although my father as a policeman mentioned it to me and would have loved me to enter the award, I don’t recall the schools ever mentioning it let alone promoting it. That is a huge shame in my view. It’s very obvious that the D of E Award is not just a piece of paper to impress with, it’s a firm and respectful guide to the rest of one’s entire life. I lacked confidence in early life and I now know that the experience provided by the scheme would have solved that problem. I must admit that simply writing these words is now giving me powerful feelings to get out and achieve more while I can. Thank you and very best wishes for the future.