MORE than 180 young people from across East Hampshire, including the Alresford area, converged on Treloar College in Holybourne for the annual Duke of Edinburgh Award (DofE) presentation.

The Pike Hall was packed last Wednesday for the occasion which sought to highlight the achievement of 54 bronze DofE award achievers, alongside 28 silverrecipients and one gold award winner.

The young people came from the 2nd Alton Boys’ Brigade, Alton Convent School, Amery Hill School (Alton), Ditcham Park School (Petersfield), Eggar’s School (Alton), Horndean Technology College, Mill Chase School (Bordon), Meon Valley Scouts, The Petersfield School, Rotherfield Scouts, Treloar College, and open Duke of Edinburgh centres at Alresford, Alton and Ditcham Park.

The Duke of Edinburgh is a nationally-renowned development programme for young people, which challenges them in many ways.

According to East Hampshire DofE chairman David Allan, it is being “enthusiastically taken up by an ever-increasing number of young people right across East Hampshire, with hundreds of awards now being gained in the district every year”.

“Everyone doing DofE has to take up a skill, undertake a physical activity, and spend time as a volunteer,” he said.

“Participants had selected a wide range of skills, including topics as diverse as computer building and cookery, as well as the more usual skills of art and music. Physical achievements covered almost all available sports.

“And whether they volunteered by coaching youngsters in a sport, acting as a young leader in a uniformed youth organisation, working in a crèche, assisting in a hospice, helping in church, fundraising for a charity or working as a conservation volunteer, every one of them had put significant amounts of time and effort into making their community a better place.”

And Mr Allan added: “Expeditions are perhaps the best-enjoyed part of DofE, involving travel in a group in unfamiliar terrain. Most of the bronze expeditions were in the local area or in the New Forest, while at silver level groups tended to travel further afield.

“At gold level, participants are required to go into ‘wild country’ – areas which are far from Alton and all rather hilly. There was just one gold recipient at the presentation, Emily White, whose expedition had taken place in the remote Galloway Hills in southern Scotland.”

Emily’s achievement will be formally recognised in May at a reception at Buckingham Palace, when The Duke of Edinburgh or The Earl of Wessex will present her certificate.

Presiding over the Alton ceremony were East Hampshire District Council chairman David Ashcroft and Hampshire County Council DofE manager Charley Mills.

They were joined by guest of honour Rebecca Stephens, the first British woman to climb Everest.

Rebecca has climbed the highest peaks on each continent, visited the Magnetic South Pole, and trekked, run and canoed across the Canadian Rockies.

Rebecca began the evening by presenting the certificates, starting with a group of young people from Treloar College who had completed parts of their bronze award.

“Their exceptional achievements were recognised,”said Mr Allan. “Some of the students will shortly leave the college but others will be hoping to complete the remaining part of their DofE while at Treloar’s.”

Rebecca went on to give an inspirational address to the young people, describing how she overcame difficulties on the Everest attempt, and sharing with them the lessons for life that she had learned.

There was entertainment laid on too from ‘Dash’ – aka Benjamin Buckley from The Petersfield School, who played the guitar and sang the Oasis hit Don’t Look Back in Anger, and from Treloar student Jess Brown, who spoke about her own expedition on a narrow boat, and the challenges she had to overcome.

Both of these young people are DofE participants, as were the citation readers from 2nd Alton Boys’ Brigade and Rotherfield Venture Scouts.

Mr Allan thanked Rebecca for her “inspirational” address before expressing grateful thanks to parents and leaders for their support for the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and congratulating the award winners on their achievements, adding: “DofE is one of the most worthwhile things you can do. I do hope that you will all choose to ‘Go for Gold’.”

n In addition to the Alton ceremony, there will be independent presentations organised for the large number of young people who have qualified through Bohunt School (Liphook), Churcher’s College (Petersfield), Lord Wandsworth College (Long Sutton, near Odiham), and Bedales School (Petersfield).

Full details about The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme are available from David Allan on 01420 84739, or from the Hampshire county DofE office on 01962 876218.