bognor students receive gold certificates from Edwina Currie

Ben and Lucy Archer, Francesca Satturley and Robyn Denton met Prince Philip at the ceremony in St James Palace, Pall Mall, before being presented with their awards last week.

The gold certificates, which take a minimum of 18 months to complete, represent the highest certification for the Duke of Edinburgh Award. To gain the qualification, set objectives are completed to demonstrate the qualities of participants.

These include voluntary work, a team-building expedition, tests of sporting ability, learning new skills and a residential trip.

For the residential part of the award, where participants stay and work away from home on a shared activity, Lucy Archer, 20, who attended Bognor Regis Community College, decided to teach children at a Sri Lankan orphanage.

"Teaching at the orphanage opened my eyes to the rest of the world and how differently people live in other countries," she said. "It was a great experience that broadened my view of the world."

The award is usually taken as an extra-curricular activity by students at school or college but can be taken by anyone from 14 to 25 years.

Ben Archer, 19, took the course when he was 17, but suggested the skills he learned would be useful to people of all ages.

"The award teaches you the importance of team-building and helps improve your confidence by introducing you to a variety of people of different ages and backgrounds '“ I'd recommend it to anyone."

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