Victoria Sadler (Upper Sixth)
On Monday, two Upper Sixth girls alongside seven BGS alumnae visited Buckingham Palace to receive their Duke of Edinburgh's (DofE) Gold Award from the Earl of Wessex, Countess of Wessex and Duke of Gloucester. It was definitely a memorable day, celebrating all the hard work that had been put in over the past years and visiting the beautiful gardens within the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
The day also gave everyone an opportunity to catch up with one another, as well as to reminisce about our collective DofE expedition experiences in the sun, rain and wind, from Bronze in Bedfordshire to the Peak District for Silver and culminating in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District for Gold. Whether this was on foot or bicycle, each had its challenges but also moments of fun and shared memories.
As a group, we were lucky enough to have Team GB para-canoeist Emma Wiggs MBE as our presenter, who gave us an insight into her life and how after becoming paralysed at the age of 18, she persevered and took every opportunity available to her, which included pursuing her career as a PE teacher and DofE leader. It was due to her sheer determination that she was selected to represent GB in sitting volleyball in London 2012 before switching to competing in para-canoeing and winning Gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016. She is now in training for Tokyo in 2020 where she hopes to defend her title. She told us that she had been allowed the morning off from training to come to the Palace but would be back on the water in the afternoon as she trains six days a week.
Receiving the DofE Gold is not easy, it is not meant to be. We can all agree that it has taken us all out of our comfort zone, pushing us to our limits. It has been a brilliant experience!
Girls presented with their Gold Award (L-R): Elana Sweatman (2016), Ellen Lovell (2016), Eleanor Lawton (2018), Emma Brown (2018), Elise Ferretti (2018), Emily Moule (2014), Judith Tarrant (Upper Sixth), Victoria Sadler (Upper Sixth) and Katie Parrish (2017).
