Students celebrate Duke of Edinburgh success at Buckingham Palace
A host of Liverpool student doctors made the trip down to London this May to join HRH The Earl of Wessex, special guests and 12,000 other young people who had completed Gold Duke of Edinburgh programmes before and during the COVID pandemic.
The gardens of Buckingham Palace were transformed into festival-style celebrations in honour of those who had completed the DofE programme, which offers opportunities to discover new talents and interests and develop essential skills for life and work.
Year One Student Rob Harris shares, “On Monday 16th May I went to Buckingham Palace to celebrate achieving my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award.
The afternoon was opened by the Earl of Wessex, who spoke about his own Duke of Edinburgh experiences, explaining some of the lessons he learnt including leadership skills, being able to inspire others and overcoming challenges.
Crowds listened to other guest speakers including Tanni Grey Thompson and Levi Roots. Roots talked openly about wanting people to be inspired by themselves and to be their own person to achieve greatness as he shared examples of his time on Dragons' Den and making his own music. Guests were then invited for a cup of tea and cake before the sun set over central London.”
Alice Wood at the celebrations and during her DofE
Student Doctor Alice Wood was also delighted to take part in the celebrations.
“Completing bronze, silver and gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards was such an adventure. It challenged me to try new skills, like learning ancient Greek, as well as volunteering as a care home visitor which helped prepare me for talking with patients.
Bonding over blisters and porridge in the rain deepened friendships and climbing to new heights in the sunny Lake District gave a sense of accomplishment after hard work.
The awards ceremony held at Buckingham palace was a wonderful celebration of the achievement. Quite fittingly, it poured with rain, but the morning was filled with encouragements from a poet and a Paralympian, cakes, a buzzing atmosphere and even a chat with His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex.
Other student doctors celebrating included Catherine Dilley, Tamsyn Ward, Liberty Ferguson, Lucy Corry, Abigail Hudson, Niamh Pepperell, Samar Hoda and Sandra Santhosh. Congratulations to all of you!
Learn more about the Duke of Edinburgh programme and this year’s celebrations on the official website (link).