Record number of young people celebrated at DofE Awards
St Matthew’s Academy Auditorium played host to this year’s Duke of Edinburgh Awards (DofE) ceremony celebrating the hard work and dedication of North Ayrshire’s selfless young people.
A milestone for North Ayrshire, 280 pupils were recognised at the evening ceremony on Wednesday 3 April where pupils across our secondary schools were honoured across the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards.
North Ayrshire currently has nine secondary schools and six youth and community groups involved in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award in North Ayrshire.
In the past year North Ayrshire Council has achieved its highest numbers ever for Awards started and Awards achieved.
Since the start of April 2024, 514 young people have enrolled onto a DofE Award, with just over 1,000 young people currently engaged in DofE Award activity.
Celebrating the landmark milestone, Council Leader Marie Burns gave a warm welcome to the DofE participants, parents, guardians, leaders and volunteers.
She said: “The DofE is increasing in popularity here in North Ayrshire and the number of achievers has never been higher. It is a fantastic, varied programme of youth work including volunteering and outdoor learning activities.
“It is a brilliant example of how our secondary schools are working in partnership with the council’s Community Learning and Development team to enhance the confidence, skills, resilience, physical fitness and health and wellbeing of our young people.
“The DofE Award is really preparing them for life and work and can go a long way in improving the mind, body and soul of young people so that they can realise their full potential. Thank you to everyone involved, this is a tremendous effort by our young people and by their award leaders.”
Provost Anthea Dickson presented awards at the ceremony. Throughout the celebratory event, she heard about the young people’s tremendous achievements. Councillor Dickson said: “Well done to our inspiring young people who have sacrificed their own time to work towards their awards.
“The internationally-recognised DofE accolades are a standard of excellence. These awards are going to really help our young people shine and stand out when they progress into further education or as they embark upon the next step of their employment journeys, so their achievements are a cause of significant celebration.
“Well done to all and good luck to everyone progressing towards their next DofE award levels in 2025."
Pupils who have recently been on expeditions took to the stage during the event to share their experiences, making for an enjoyable presentation with lots of laughter and memories shared.
Quote: Thank you to all of the local award leaders, teachers, head teachers, volunteers, parents, guardians and support workers who have championed our DofE recruits. Over the past year, our young people have clocked an incredible 5,000 hours volunteering throughout their communities, generating a social value of more than £70,000 for the local economy. Not only does DofE help to prepare young people for the next chapter of their lives, it is also a brilliant opportunity to make friends, develop new skills and gain confidence. If you are a young person who would like to get involved, speak to a school teacher, youth worker or Duke of Edinburgh representative in your school or local community centre to find out how you can be part of the action too.”
Quote from: Councillor Shaun Macaulay, Cabinet Member for Education and Young People
Planned DofE expeditions for 2025 will include multiple Bronze trips to Clyde Muirshiel, Arran and North Galloway, multiple Silver trips to Arran, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park and the Galloway Forest Park as well as Gold trips on Arran and the Central Highlands.
Stay tuned to @DofENAC on X for the latest Duke of Edinburgh North Ayrshire updates.
For more information about the Duke of Edinburgh programme and other youth opportunities, visit our website.
Published: 07 April 2025