Prince Edward was left “impressed” by Welsh pupils who battled Storm Amy to complete an expedition for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE).
The Duke of Edinburgh, 61, met with young people from across Wales during a visit to Cardiff, asking them about their activities as part of their DofE.
The award, founded by the late Prince Philip in 1956, focuses on young people completing physical, skills, volunteering and expedition sections.
Edward spoke to pupils from the Pen y Dre High School in Merthyr Tydfil, who had to cope with Storm Arm during their DofE.
Prince Edward spoke to pupils from the Pen y Dre High School in Merthyr Tydfil
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Maria Tandy, the DofE lead at the school, said: “We just did (the silver award) in October in the Lake District during Storm Amy.
“I think he was quite impressed by that, you know, made a few jokes.
“Our campsite cancelled on us because it flooded, and they said to us, ‘Well, we assumed you wouldn’t do it, because every other school has cancelled.’
“And I kind of made a joke to him, like, ‘They don’t know where we’re from, we are hardcore.’ He quite enjoyed that.”
The Duke of Edinburgh was left ‘quite impressed’ by the students
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The duke told the pupils: “It was an adventure that you will remember.”
Edward started his visit at the Welsh Parliament, where he spoke to DofE youth ambassadors and joined in with volunteering activities.
The father-of-two then visited the Pierhead, before ending his trip at the Urdd Cardiff Residential Centre, where he met young people learning first aid and practising orienteering skills for their DofE expedition.
DofE youth ambassador, Iena Velichkova, said: “I had a really nice time talking to (the duke), it was exciting, him being interested about our own individual experiences and how that’s made an impact on us.
The duke watched on while the students engaged in teambuilding skills
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“I would definitely say it was an amazing experience.”
Tabitha Myatt, also a DofE youth ambassador, stated: “After lockdown, I found it very difficult to get from such a confined environment to then go outdoors, and to experience all of that (in the DofE Award) was amazing.
“Meeting the duke himself just put it all together, really, he was really down to earth.”
More than 9,700 young people started their DofE in Wales last year, giving more than 133,000 hours of volunteering in their communities.
More than 9,700 young people started their DofE in Wales last year
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Chief executive of the DofE Award, Ruth Marvel, said: “This is such a brilliant opportunity to showcase both the diversity of young people who are involved in DofE.
“The really wide range of different things that young people are doing under the banner of DofE.
“We’ve had young people here from community groups, from Welsh language schools, from pupil referral units, young people with special educational needs, all congregating in the Senedd.
“It’s a really lovely day to shine a light on how important these kinds of opportunities are for young people’s development.”