Going for Gold

Excitement was high for the first Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) celebration and in-person presentation at Buckingham Palace since 2019! Over 30 Alleyn’s Alumni were amongst the 3,000 DofE Gold award winners welcomed to the Buckingham Palace Garden for the first of four very special festival-style celebrations.

The celebration saw The Earl of Wessex and Strictly Come Dancing’s Johannes Radebe give speeches to welcome the assembled guests to the festivities.

This year’s celebrations are the biggest ever and will recognise the achievements of around 12,000 young people who did their demanding Gold DofE programmes both before and during the COVID pandemic – showing extraordinary creativity, resilience and determination to achieve their Awards while navigating unprecedented challenges and restrictions.

Head Jane Lunnon and Alleyn’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Manager (and Brown’s Housemaster), Richard Alldrick, were honoured to meet The Earl of Wessex. Jane said:

“I’m very proud of our Gold DofErs (and) it was a pleasure to celebrate their achievements with some of them in a very special place. My huge thanks to Richard Alldrick and all the staff who help make the DofE magic happen.”

The Award was founded in 1956 and has been running at Alleyn's since 1977.

It was indeed a magical and memorable occasion for all those who attended.