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Posted: Monday 11 July 2011

DofE Gold Award Presentation

On Monday the 4th July a group of 14 former Hutchesons’ pupils received Duke of Edinburgh's Awards at Holyrood Palace. Here they offer a few words on their achievements:

Gold Award Recipients: Laura Yuill, Conrad Cohen, Sarah Jack, Alexander Webster, Eleanor Swan, Mark Anderson, Mary Pearson, Sidharth Sharma, Anna Hastie, Andrew Watson, Louise Bowie, Murray Yuill, Katherine Elliot, Ross Graham. Brigadier Lowder is in the Centre.

His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh was approaching, the excitement was obvious in our faces and all went quiet as we waited to see if his Majesty would stop and talk to us or perhaps shake our hands. The national anthem was played by the Highland Guards and there was a beautiful blue sky overhead. The Duke of Edinburgh looked younger than his 90 years, sporting a panama hat to keep the sun off. The moment of waiting would soon be over…

We had all worked hard to get to this stage of the Gold DofE Award, completing five sections including Volunteering, Physical Recreation, Skills, Expedition and a Residential week. It had taken each one of us a minimum of 18 months to complete with quite a number taking a few years longer. We shared comments on what a beneficial experience it had been for us. It was the first time we had been given freedom and were trusted to carry out an independent expedition as a team.  It had prepared us well to live away from home and get the most out of the opportunities available at University.  We reminisced about the challenging moments on the expedition when it had been difficult to carry on. However the logbooks had all now been signed off and we had all received our gold lettered invitations to come to the Palace of Holyroodhouse on 4th July 2011.

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh smiles at us with a glint in his eye. He stops and asks ‘what did you do for your expedition?’ We explain some of our exploits sea kayaking round the West coast of Scotland which he seems genuinely interested in. He jokes with us a couple of times saying ‘Ah but you got lost did you not?’

We laugh as he moves on. The excitement wasn’t over; however as now we would be presented with our Gold Award Certificates by Major Brigadier Lowder. He is the Commander of the Army in Scotland and was displaying all his medals in full military uniform. It was a proud moment for us and our parents. Cameras clicked and group photos were organised for prosperity. It had been an unforgettable and fantastic day.

Recipients’ comments compiled by Colin Macleod
(Presenter Marshall & DofE Leader)

Gold Award Recipients in the first photograph from left to right are: Laura Yuill, Conrad Cohen, Sarah Jack, Alexander Webster, Eleanor Swan, Mark Anderson, Mary Pearson, Sidharth Sharma, Anna Hastie, Andrew Watson, Louise Bowie, Murray Yuill, Katherine Elliot, Ross Graham. Brigadier Lowder is in the Centre.

Tags: Duke of Edinburghs Award, Former Pupils, Prizegiving

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