Duke of Edinburgh presentation evening

Duke of Edinburgh Presentation Evening

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Over 200 young people were presented with a Duke of Edinburgh award at the annual Rochdale Borough Youth Service presentation evening at Gracie Fields Theatre.

The Mayor and Mayoress, Surinder and Cecile Biant presented the young people with their certificates and badges.

The evening was hosted by eight young people from Oulder Hill School who had organised the evening over the past three months as the volunteering section of the award.

Young people from Brownhill Learning Centre, Hollingworth Academy, Falinge Park High School, Matthew Moss High School, Oulderhill School, St Cuthberts RC High School, Wardle Academy, Rochdale Girls School, Rochdale Sixth Form College and Rochdale Youth Service all attended the evening to receive their awards.

Diane Higgins, Lead Youth Worker and Duke of Edinburgh award manager for Rochdale, commented “It was great to see a diverse group of young people from Rochdale celebrating their achievements together. The number of young people choosing to do the award in Rochdale is growing each year with more and more schools and community groups offering young people from every background the opportunity to complete – we want Rochdale to become one of the leading towns in the North when it comes to the DofE.”

This year is also the first time in a number of years that young people from Rochdale have been presented with the gold award. They are now able to complete this level of the award with the borough’s youth service and as a student of Rochdale Sixth Form College.

A group from Rochdale Youth Service collected their awards in November from the Duke of Edinburgh at St James Palace.

Anyone aged between 14 and 24 can do a programme at one of the three progressive levels which, when successfully completed, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. There are four sections at bronze and silver level and five at gold.

Young people will achieve a Duke of Edinburgh award if they show persistence, commitment and personal development over a period of time. Every activity must be successfully completed and assessed. The result is the world’s leading achievement award for young people, recognised by employers and universities alike. Completing a DofE programme develops young people for life and work. It develops resilience, confidence and a ‘can do’ attitude as well as the social and communication skills that businesses are calling out for.