Hundreds of Brighton and Hove youngsters recognised for their award scheme success

Hundreds of Brighton and Hove youngsters have been recognised for their success in the Duke of Edinburgh’s (D of E) Award Scheme.

They received certificates and were presented with badges in a ceremony at the American Express Community Stadium in Falmer last night (Wednesday 4 February).

Most of those who were named in the programme for the event had earned their Bronze and Silver awards through their school.

Bethany Hancock, Louisa le Duc and Hannah Hancock, from Cardinal Newman Catholic School, were among hundreds of young people to collect their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme certificates and badges

These included Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI Form College (BHASVIC), Brighton College, Brighton and Hove High School, Cardinal Newman, the Cedar Centre, Dorothy Stringer, Downs View Link College, Longhill, Roedean, Varndean College and Varndean School.

Other organisations helping youngsters with the D of E scheme included Albion in the Community, the Carden D of E Centre, Hangleton D of E Centre, Longhill CCF D of E Centre, North Hove Rangers, Sussex University and YMCA Downslink Group.

Nine of the organisations had helped young people to qualify for their Gold award.

Everyone who attended received their badge from the Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Peter Field.

The award scheme is co-ordinated by Brighton and Hove City Council’s Outdoor Education Team. It is currently working with more than 2,000 young people looking to enhance their skills and improve their employability.

Activities undertaken by young people on the programme in the past year have included

• clearing litter from the beach, woodland conservation and fundraising for African children in the volunteering section
• kick boxing, zumba, bouldering and sailing for physical activities
• dog handling, car mechanics, power boating and learning languages such as Polish and Japanese for the skills section

The event at the Amex was hosted solely by D of E participants. They included two students from Hamilton Lodge School for the Deaf, Paighton Gibson and Olly Chettle, with the support of interpreters.

Paighton Gibson and Olly Chettle

They faced the challenge of communicating with fellow team members who have hearing when they tackled a three-day expedition on the North Downs. The pair taught their four colleagues some basic sign language.

Paighton said: “It was a real challenge to be with hearing people, without an interpreter, and is something I feel will be really useful in future.”

Olly said: “I now realise it doesn’t matter whether you’re deaf or have hearing, we all have different skills we can bring to a situation.

“I was the best map reader so they relied on me but of course that meant that if we got lost, it was my fault!”

Councillor Sue Shanks, who chairs the council’s Children and Young People Committee, said: “We want our young people to grow up to be well-rounded adults who have a positive contribution to their community.

“The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme has a huge part to play in this and we value it very highly.

“The sheer range of activities on offer is amazing and is also a tribute to the excellent work of our Outdoor Education Team.”

To find out more about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme in Brighton and Hove, contact Rachel Paget on 01273 294234, 07827 880759 or rachel.paget@brighton-hove.gov.uk.