His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh welcomes 8,000 Gold DofE Award holders to Buckingham Palace – recognising their incredible achievement

Around 2,000 DofE Gold Award holders were guests of honour in the Buckingham Palace Garden this morning for the first of four very special events to mark their achievements.

The celebrations, taking place today and on Monday 12 May, will recognise 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.

The Buckingham Palace Garden has been transformed into a festival-style celebration for young people and their loved ones, with giant deckchairs, bunting, and garden games and activities. Attendees have the chance to hear from famous DofE Award holders and sporting legends, and pick up career advice from actors, presenters, authors, and campaigners, at stages throughout the garden.

This morning’s celebration saw His Royal Highness 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, telling them that they should all be “incredibly proud” and “stand a few inches taller”. The Duke also met Award holders, hearing about the positive impact their DofE has had on them.

Alex Scott MBE delivered an inspiring speech alongside Poppy Bough, 20, from Beverley who celebrated her own Gold Award achievement today.

Alex Scott shared the lessons she’d learnt from her own career, telling the crowd: “My story starts with football and the football cage at the end of my street in my council estate. I’m an East London girl through and through – a borough called Tower Hamlets. This football cage was the most unglamorous thing ever. It was a patch of concrete – a wire cage with two goals at either end. I had to fight my brother and his mates for time on the ball, for them to pick me. That cage was my Wembley it’s where my dreams began – and I still get such a smile on my face thinking about it. I played every game for England like I still had something to prove against my brother’s mates in that East London estate.

“Find that space that feels like your own football cage. That’s powerful. Somewhere that feels safe, but gives you the confidence to dream massive. Just like the DofE. That willingness to try, to push yourself, to work as a team while standing tall as an individual. You never know where it might lead – but I promise you, if you keep stepping forwards with that spirit, you’ll end up somewhere amazing. Maybe even somewhere you never thought possible – like me back in Tower Hamlets, dreaming of Wembley.

“I’ll finish with a few words of advice: step onto every new pitch like you own it. Don’t be afraid to take the challenging shots. And never stop fighting for the ball!”

Poppy, who has autism, told the crowd how the DofE was life-changing for her. She said: “Before I began my DofE, I had never spent a night away from home and I had no friends to do it with. At the first meeting, I stood there petrified, but for the first time ever, I saw something I could join in with.

“Thanks to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award I have pushed myself further than I thought possible. I became an NHS cadet, I completed my first aid qualification and learned sign language, I trained to run a 10k and I became an expert at cooking a curry from scratch and even took spices and coconut milk on my expedition. Walking miles with others and being able to join in with conversations was also a first for me. I learnt surprising things like Love Island was not a documentary about Ireland!

“I had always spent my time isolated and watching from the side. Suddenly I was part of something and encouraging others in from the sidelines too. The Poppy that I was at the start of this journey would never have stood here today. I am grateful to DofE for showing me that I am strong, I am different, but I no longer want to be the same as everyone else – I just want to be me.”

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.”

Other speakers at this morning’s event included Journalist Victoria Derbyshire, actor Larry Lamb and Strictly star Amy Dowden MBE, while speakers at the following three celebrations will include presenter Roman Kemp, comedian Bill Bailey, singer Calum Scott, footballer Hannah Hampton and Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE.