Sixth-form student, Chloe Tolley, rubbed shoulders with royalty, sports stars and TV personalities when she celebrated achieving the highest possible honour on the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme at Buckingham Palace.
Chloe travelled to London for the presentation in the gardens of the palace. She was given her DofE Gold Award in the presence of HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and TRH the Earl and Countess of Wessex as part of the special ceremony.
The event was held to celebrate the talented young people who have achieved the prestigious Gold Award standard in the Duke of Edinburgh’s scheme. This year’s special palace presentation was organised to mark the 60th anniversary of the international programme.
Chloe - pictured with sports presenter Jim Rosenthal and rugby ace Danny Cipriani during the ceremony - was one of a selection of Gold Award holders from across the UK and some of the 140 countries that run the DofE programme across the world that was invited to attend.
She attended the prestigious event on behalf of the school and the many students who have challenged themselves as part of the DofE programme over the years. Fellow Highfields sixth-form student, Deenah Randhawa, has also achieved the prestigious Gold standard and will attend a yet-to-be-announced ceremony later in the year to officially receive her award.
Craig Moody, who runs the school’s DofE programme and accompanied Chloe to the palace for the presentation, said: “To reach the Gold Award standard in the DofE programme is an incredible achievement and this was a wonderful celebration.
“It is a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives and fitting that Chloe was honoured in such incredible surroundings for her achievements on the programme.
“We are now looking forward to Deenah’s ceremony later in the year.”
The Duke of Edinburgh’s scheme was launched 60 years ago with the aim of inspiring, guiding and supporting young people in their self-development. The awards scheme challenges students and allows them to discover the world around them whilst providing them with invaluable skills and experiences to improve employment prospects.
Hundreds of Highfields students have taken part in the DofE programme since the school started running the scheme around 10 years ago. Those taking part have taken on a number of challenges including volunteering in the community and a residential trip which involves them only being allowed to know one other person and therefore building a team to complete a project with strangers.
