Nine scouts from Winchester have celebrated achieving their Gold Awards by meeting a prince and an astronaut at Buckingham Palace.
On Monday, May 13, scouts from Winchester's Trident Explorer visited the palace to celebrate achieving their gold Duke of Edinburgh award, with 13 members of the scout group now having achieved this feat since the group was formed in 2018. A further 12 scouts are due to meet the milestone within the next year.
The explorers met Prince Edward as well as guest speaker Tim Peake, enjoying a special garden party held at the palace for those who had completed their gold award.
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Since it was set up in 2018, for those aged between 14 and 18, Winchester Trident Explorer Scouts has had a strong focus on everyone in the group achieving D of E awards as they form the core of the Chief Scout Awards.
The awards consist of expeditions, volunteering, skills, and physical sections, with a special residential week away at the Gold level.
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Leaders Henrietta Lucas and Nick Warner have supported Trident’s top two age groups through Bronze, Silver, and Gold awards, helping to organise expeditions in the Lake District and Snowdonia.
Henrietta and Nick said: “We are immensely proud of what our Explorers have achieved. Week in and week out volunteering around Winchester, developing skills, and also overcoming the challenges of hiking and camping for four days and nights in the mountains.
"They have become friends for life through doing these awards together.”
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