Celebrating the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

Luke on Duke of Edinburgh expedition with the other Cardinal Newman Sixth Form participants

A 19-year-old from Luton was invited to Buckingham Palace to receive his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award.

Luke Hill began the youth awards programme when he was in year 10 at Cardinal Newman School, he spent five years completing the volunteering, training and activities.

He said: “I went to the Palace at the end of May to receive the Gold Award for duke of Edinburgh, it was quite impressive.

“I completed it in August, it felt really good to achieve the award. It has been a fun, challenging and really good experience.

Luke outside Buckingham Palace with his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award

“I have learnt a lot through it and a lot of the skills I gained during the experience I can now use regularly in day-to-day life.

“I think the most important thing I learnt was about teamwork. On the expeditions we had to work together and work out who was strong at what and we kept changing to suit everyone’s strengths.

“One of the best moments was on the final expedition when we saw the minibus and knew we had almost finished, everyone was drained, we were all walking and then everyone started running to the bus. To sum it up it has been an amazing, rewarding experience.”

The Duke of Edinburgh Gold award involves volunteering, physical activities, life skills, an expedition and a residential stay. The programme aims to inspire and transform the lives of young people.