DETERMINED students in East Hampshire have picked up their Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Gold, silver and bronze awards were handed out at Ditcham Park School, near Petersfield, on October 17.

Adventurer, mountaineer and expedition leader David Love, who is a survival instructor in the Bear Grylls Academy, dished out 192 bronze, 28 silver and eight gold awards.

The DofE is the world’s leading achievement award for young people, with a mission to "inspire, guide and support young people in their self-development and recognise their achievements”.

There are 20 centres in East Hampshire offering DofE, as well as schools and colleges, including voluntary organisations such as the Scouts, Boys’ Brigade, and Air Cadets.

After a few words of welcome from Ditcham Park School headteacher Graham Spawforth, Mr Love presented certificates to the award achievers, listening attentively as details of their individual DofE programmes were read out.

Two participants showed film of their expedition in the Brecon Beacons and a video they had made showing “extreme mountain biking” around the corridors, stairways and classrooms of the school.

Everyone doing DofE has to take up a skill, undertake a physical activity, and spend time as a volunteer. A wide range of activities had been chosen by participants, including film-making.

Expeditions are perhaps the best-known part of DofE, involving travel in unfamiliar terrain. Bronze expeditions are normally fairly close to home, while silver and gold groups may often travel further afield, to more demanding environments. There is a further residential section at gold level, which can take participants to far-flung and unusual places.

The achievement of a gold award is formally recognised at a reception at one of the royal palaces, when the Earl of Wessex usually presents the certificates, and the eight young people are looking forward to that experience.

To round off the evening, Mr Love gave an inspirational address to the young people. Congratulating them on their achievements, his advice was to break big challenges down into small, manageable bits.

He was keen also to point out that failure isn’t necessarily bad, if used as a learning process and a stepping stone to future success.

In addition to those invited to the presentation, many young people have qualified through four of the district’s independent schools, each of which organises their own presentation ceremony.

Full details about the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award are available from David Allan, the chairman of DofE in East Hampshire, by calling 01420 84739, or from the Hampshire county DofE office on 023 8068 4935.