HRH The Earl of Wessex, Trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award, met with dozens of Hertfordshire young people taking part in the DofE Award in order to see the variety of skills developed as part of their programmes.

HRH also met with members of staff from Hertfordshire County Council’s youth service, YC Hertfordshire, a Licensed Organisation for DofE in the county, who support schools to deliver programmes to their pupils and who also deliver the programme in youth projects across Hertfordshire.

Schools who attended and showcased the skills of their students were:

Rickmansworth School

Lakeside School

Francis Combe Academy

Sandringham School

Watford Grammar School for Boys

Chancellor's School

St Clement Danes School

Stanborough School

Lonsdale School

The Thomas Alleyne Academy

The Sele School

Young people can work towards three different levels of Award: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level of programme contains four different elements: Volunteering, Physical, Skills and Expedition, with a fifth Residential section at Gold.

Hertfordshire County Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, Teresa Heritage, who also attended the event, held at the University of Hertfordshire, said: “The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award inspires thousands of young people in Hertfordshire each year. Everyone who takes part develops new skills and contributes to their local communities. The variety of talent on display and the enthusiasm of the young people shows how valuable the programme is.”

Last year more than 3000 young people in Hertfordshire achieved a Bronze, Silver or Gold award. 5690 young people have joined the programme in the last year through schools and projects operating under the Hertfordshire County Council, YC Hertfordshire DofE licence.

Find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and how to get involved.