Netball: Girls' Pre-Season Training for selected pupils at King's, finishes 5:00pm
.jpg?command_1=resize&width_1=220 "Old Brutonians pick up their Gold Duke of Edinburgh awards at Buckingham Palace Gardens")
Old Brutonians pick up their Gold Duke of Edinburgh awards at Buckingham Palace Gardens...
On 20th May, my mum and I embarked on our long-awaited trip to Buckingham Palace Gardens for my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony. Though I finished my Gold while still at King's in 2019, the pandemic meant that I, and many others, were not able to officially celebrate our achievement until now.
The gardens were an absolutely stunning setting, and the ceremony was a lovely affair. We entered in the afternoon (mercifully, as it had rained all morning) and were allowed to mingle initially with free tea and cake. I was really pleasantly surprised to run into a lot of my friends there, including some Old Hazlegrovians who I had not seen since I was thirteen. There were many really interesting speakers, which we were free to choose between, including The Apprentice's Nick Hewer, James and Oliver Phelps (who played Fred and George Weasley in the Harry Potter series) and of course the future Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward himself. It was overall a great day, and an ideal chance to bring out my old Lyon House colours.
DofE was a brilliant experience in that it really allowed me to exploit all of the opportunities afforded to me at King's, from improving at my sport and music to volunteering in the Military Band and giving back to the local community. The Gold expeditions, specifically, were a real step up in that we were given much more respect and freedom to tackle the outdoors than on Silver; I built a real rapport with my teammates and the instructors, and gained memories that, though tough at times (camping halfway up Mount Snowdon being a real highlight), I still reflect on very fondly today. I couldn't recommend participating enough - the effort is worth it.
Alex Baxter - Old Brutonian - Lyon House 2016-20
The photos show Alex on the right, and fellow Old Brutonians Sam (Old 2011-16) and Hebe Young (Wellesley 2012-17), on the left, with their awards too.
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.jpg "Old Brutonians pick up their Gold Duke of Edinburgh awards at Buckingham Palace Gardens")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Old Brutonians met for their annual London Lunch")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "An interesting talk by Roger Gallannaugh on The Bruton Abbey Project")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "The Leavers' Ball 2024")
.JPG&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "A successful Silver DofE qualifying expedition to the Brecon Beacons")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "In Chapel, our Chaplain spoke to pupils about the 80th Anniversary of D-Day")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "23 pupils successfully completed the Gold DofE Expedition")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Old Brutonian, Charlotte Elway is raising funds for the Meningitis Research Foundation")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Inspiration and guidance from America! An OB’s experience studying in Boston")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Paying respects to Old Brutonian, Captain Charles Williams of the South Wales Borderers")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Celebrating 150 Years of New House with an anniversary booklet")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "The Gold DofE teams enjoyed a practice 16km walk in the Brecon Beacons")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "A successful Silver DofE Training Weekend")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "The Old Brutonians vs King’s golf match")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "DofE Silver Walking Qualifying Expedition to Bannau Brycheiniog")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "The Opening of the Sir Peter Squire Pavilion")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "Congratulations to our Gold Duke of Edinburgh teams who successfully completed the challenge")
.jpg&command_2=resize&height_2=85 "The King's community celebrated Commemoration Day in glorious sunshine")