Local Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Gold Achiever Meets HRH The Earl of Wessex

Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award achiever, Duncan Bolling, from Brydekirk, Dumfries and Galloway, was among a handful of young people from across the UK to be presented to HRH Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex at a celebration event held in Buckingham Palace Garden last week.

During the week a record-breaking 12,000 Gold Award holders were welcomed to Buckingham Palace Garden for the first Duke of Edinburgh’s Award celebrations since the pandemic. Many achieved their Gold while facing unprecedented challenges and restrictions. Duncan had just completed his Gold Award and was due to attend the event in London to formally receive his award back in May 2020. Having waited two years for this celebration Duncan, now studying Acting at Norwich University of the Arts, was delighted to attend: “The postponement of the DofE Award celebration back at the beginning of the pandemic was a huge disappointment. The chance to attend one of the first events, as we recover from these terrible two years, has been even more memorable and special.”

All Gold Award holders to attend Buckingham Place Garden were invited to share their story about what they experienced while working towards their Gold Award, and how it has helped them with the next step into adult life. Duncan submitted his story, saying that as a person with Autism, having experienced great difficultly bonding with other young people, the activities to reach his Gold DofE Award status gave him purpose and helped build his confidence as he learned new skills. His story was picked up by the DofE celebration event organisers and he was invited to be amongst a few Gold Award holders to be present to HRH The Earl of Wessex to discuss what the DofE Award meant to them.

On reflection, following last week’s celebration Duncan said: “It was an honour to meet HRH The Earl of Wessex. DofE was a life changing experience for me, it pushed boundaries I didn’t even know I had. I still get flashbacks, even three years after achieving my Gold. I remember the rain, the snow, the gut retching thought at 4.30 in the afternoon that there’s still another 5 miles to go! But the sense of achievement made it all worth it.

“I’m very grateful for all that I’ve been through and the friendships that I made along the way. DofE, most importantly, gave me purpose throughout my teenage years as I struggled, being autistic, to create bonds and friendships. I was pushed through by this scheme to keep up my activities and keep learning new skills.” Duncan also made special mention to the DofE Leader at his school, Lockerbie Academy: “Miss McNay got me through all three levels and was always there for me when I was at my lowest. I hope that I have made her proud.”

The DofE celebration event was attended by Duncan and his mum, Lynda McDairmant. Many inspirational speakers were there and Duncan made full use of the event to hear from high achievers such as Levi Roots, of Reggae Reggae Sauce and Dragons Den alongside famous DofE alumni, Chef Matt Tebbutt of Saturday Kitchen fame and actor, Nina Wadia OBE, best know for BBC sketch show Goodness Gracious Me, EastEnders and Still Open All Hours. Nina was happy to give Duncan advice on entering the acting profession, which is his ambition.

Duncan has just completed his first year studying at Norwich University of the Arts, following a difficult time coping with the upheaval of the effects of the pandemic, and the restrictions so many young people struggled with. His mum said: “Out the other side, the experience of the DofE Gold Award event at Buckingham Palace Garden was a true celebration for all who attended, young people and parents alike. It is a very good feeling to see things return to more normal and our young people able to lead the lives they deserve.”

Duncan worked during last summer at Annan Cinema and from that secured a job at City Cinema in Norwich, to supplement his income during studies. He hopes one day to be seen on the cinema screens and also to return to DofE as an ambassador for this scheme, which helped him so much in his personal development

More about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Celebration at Buckingham Palace and the Award itself

HRH The Earl of Wessex is a Trustee of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, started by his father in 1956.

The Award celebration recognised the outstanding work and determination of the Gold Award holders who attended Buckingham Palace Garden. The largest occasion ever, held over four events last week (Monday 16^th and Friday 20^th May, morning and afternoon), each event was attended by around 3,000 Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award holders.

The first DofE Award celebration since the pandemic saw Buckingham Palace Garden transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with chances to hear from famous DofE Award holders and international adventurers and explorers, pick up career advice from business leaders and entrepreneurs, and join in garden games and activities.

The pandemic hit young people hard, affecting their education, social lives, jobs and mental health. At a time when many lost structure and routine, the DofE provided a much-needed motivation, purpose and focus. Supported by their Leaders, more than 330,000 young people worked towards their DofE Awards during the first year of the pandemic, and volunteered more than 1.8 million hours in their communities, often helping the COVID relief effort.

Ruth Marvel, DofE CEO, said: “Achieving a Gold DofE Award is a remarkable achievement at any time – but over the last two years young people have overcome extraordinary challenges to achieve theirs. I’m delighted we’re finally able to give them the celebration they deserve and recognise the amazing passion, resilience, and creativity they’ve shown.

“Young people were some of the hardest hit by the pandemic, losing out on education and social development, experiencing unprecedented levels of mental ill-health and now a cost of-living crisis – but, as today’s attendees show, they have the potential to achieve amazing things given the chance. We owe it to all young people to give them access to opportunities like the DofE, which can help them build their confidence, resilience and skills so they’re ready for anything.”

A Gold DofE programme is a demanding, non-competitive personal challenge, open to all young people, which takes a minimum of 12 months to complete. Young people build their own programmes with activities in five sections – Physical, Skills, Volunteering, a five-day Residential and a four-day expedition.

Every year, the DofE inspires hundreds of thousands of young people – from all walks of life – to develop skills, resilience and self-belief. We help them take on their own challenges, follow their passions, make a difference to their communities and discover talents they never knew they had. Hundreds of thousands of young people work towards their DofE Award every year.

DofE is open to any young person aged 14-24. Each young person builds their own DofE programme – picking their own activities and choosing which cause to volunteer for – in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award. The DofE is run in schools, youth clubs, hospitals, fostering agencies, prisons, sports clubs and more, all over the UK. Find out more at DofE.org