It’s not just academic achievements and skills which count. My Duke of Edinburgh Awards helped me get my dream job in aviation back in 1990 as an apprentice with British Airways! Being an ‘average’ student (and by average I mean normal... eg a bit lazy and chatty and more interested in socialising than doing school work!) I needed something else to differentiate me and being an Air Cadet and doing the awards was just that. I’ll always remember having to do my Silver expedition twice (slight pub incident) and crying at the top of a Welsh mountain in the rain at the end of the first night of my Gold expedition!! Brilliant ‘character building’ memories made during all of it.

RIP Prince Philip and it was an honour to collect my award at St James’ Palace and I hope they carry on helping future generations into their dream jobs.