Barton teen Emily Corrigan celebrates Duke of Edinburgh Award gold with Buckingham Palace party

A BARTON teen has celebrated being one of the youngest recipients of the gold Duke of Edinburgh Award with an invitation to Buckingham Palace.

Emily Corrigan (17) met the Duke as patron of the awards charity when she joined thousands of youngsters from across the country for a festival-style celebration in the palace gardens.

Emily started the award in Year 9 at Ballard School, completing the bronze and silver levels which took around two years. She went on to complete her gold award while studying at Peter Symonds College, completing it only three weeks after her 17th birthday.

Rachel Wright, DofE coordinator at Ballard School, said: “It has been such a pleasure to support Emily through her Duke of Edinburgh journey.

“She embraced the training during her bronze and silver awards while at Ballard; for her gold award she took the reins, and has shown such remarkable determination and resourcefulness. To achieve the gold award at such a young age is an incredible achievement.”

Emily’s walking expeditions took place in the New Forest, Exmoor and Dartmoor and she also participated in the National Citizenship Service residential experience. She has completed three years of extracurricular activities in the categories of skill, physical activity and volunteering.

During this she battled through the Covid pandemic which restricted access to opportunities, and a sprained Achilles from walking up steep inclines on her gold expedition.

Emily said: “Completing the gold, silver, and bronze levels of the Duke of Edinburgh Award fills me with immense pride and satisfaction.

“Each achievement represents a journey of personal growth, resilience, and adventure that I cherish deeply.

“I thoroughly enjoyed celebrating my achievement alongside others at Buckingham Palace and a personal highlight was meeting the Duke of Edinburgh.”