Hosted by The Duke as Patron of the DofE charity, Jake and Adarsha, joined thousands of young people and their loved ones for a festival-style celebration in the Buckingham Palace Garden on Friday 9 May.
The celebration was one of four taking place over two days at the Palace, recognising over 8,000 young people who have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and resilience to complete their Gold DofE in schools, community organisations, youth groups and workplaces, all over the UK.
Jake and Adarsha who did their DofE at the Royal School for the Deaf in Derby, were just a handful of young people to personally speak to The Duke at the event.
For his Gold Skills section, Jake learnt about animal care, for the Physical section he enjoyed running, and for Volunteering, Jake donated his time to cooking for the school.
For his Gold Skills section, Adarsha also learnt about animal care, for his Physical section he enjoyed working on his fitness and running, and for Volunteering, Adarsha helped younger pupils, who like both Jake and Adarsha, were in residence at the Royal School for the Deaf.
Following Jake’s exchange with The Duke, he said: “It is a once in a lifetime achievement to be here in London, Buckingham Palace to actually meet The Duke of Edinburgh in lovely weather. I have worked so hard to get this and finally I have achieved my Gold Award. It is fantastic to be here! It’s a lovely atmosphere.”
Adarsha said: “I feel the same, it is amazing to be here in Buckingham Palace and to meet The Duke of Edinburgh. Now I feel excited but when I arrived, I did feel nervous. It is lovely to be here; I feel happy.”
Buckingham Palace Garden had been transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting and garden games and activities. The celebration saw HRH The Duke of Edinburgh – who received his own Gold Award from his father Prince Philip at nearby St James’s Palace in 1986 – congratulate attendees in a speech from the Palace’s West Terrace.
Attendees also had the chance to hear from famous DofE Award holders and other inspiring speakers, with TV personality and chef Big Zuu, Olympic rower and Gold DofE Award holder Imogen Grant, SAS: Who Dares Wins star Jason Fox, The Traitors star Mollie Pearce and TV personality Dr Ranj Singh, speaking at stages throughout the garden.
Chelsea and England Women’s footballer, and Silver DofE Award holder, Hannah Hampton, delivered an inspiring speech from the West Terrace, just before Jake and Adarsha met HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Hannah said: “I am a sportswoman now, but that was not always the plan – or even the expectation. Having been born with a squint, undergoing numerous operations on my eyes, my parents were told I would not be able to be a fighter-pilot or brain surgeon, because I have no depth perception, so understandably I chose the next most appropriate career -professional footballer. More precisely, a goalkeeper.
“It would have been easy to accept my limitations. However, I never did like to take the easy path or be told what I could or could not do. In my heart and mind, I knew that I could prove them wrong and overcome their doubts. I learned something that all of you know deeply: Resilience isn’t just about being strong – it is about refusing to give up when things get tough.
“What you have done with this award is far more than a tick on your CV, or a certificate for your wall. You have trained your mind to believe that obstacles are not ‘stop signs’ – they are just detours on the way to something greater. As someone who was told ‘no’ but chose to find a ‘yes’, I want you to carry this with you, wherever life takes you next: you are capable of so much more than you know. Let this be a launch pad—not the finish line.”
A Gold DofE programme is a non-competitive personal challenge, open to all young people, which takes a minimum of 12 months to complete. Young people build their own programmes with activities in five sections – Physical, Skills, Volunteering, a five-day Residential and a four-day Expedition.
Karen Hassall, DofE Leader at Royal School for the Deaf Derby, said: “Both Jake and Adarsha were determined to complete all three DofE Awards. They were organised and very much part of the group, helping each other when things got difficult. For example, on one occasion Jake helped carry Adarsha’s rucksack as he had hurt his knee. Challenges included relying on visual cues to identify the location of water or traffic to confirm a location on a map, which is not always visible to the eye and hidden by scenery. As the group communicate through British Sign Language (BSL), this means they need to visually divert from their surroundings to the signed conversation.”
Ruth Marvel OBE, CEO of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said: “It’s a real honour and a privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in the Buckingham Palace Garden today. I’ve seen thousands of smiling faces and proud family members looking on – and rightfully so, as these young people have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and self-belief to be here. A Gold DofE Award will equip them with lifelong skills – and it’s wonderful to see our Award holders sharing their experiences, having fun, and discussing their plans for the future.
“Last year, over 342,000 young people started their DofE across the UK – the highest in our nearly 70 years of history. This shows just how much appetite there is amongst young people for enrichment opportunities beyond formal education. Together with our volunteers, partners and supporters, we want to reach 1.6 million young people by next spring - so that even more young people can take part in a life-changing DofE Award.”
The charity recently announced record-breaking participation numbers, with 572,802 young people actively taking part in 2024/25, 342,412 young people starting their Award - with participants contributing an astonishing 5.2 million hours of volunteering, with an estimated total value of £33.4 million.