TRIPLE jump Olympian Vernon Samuels has visited a Herefordshire secondary school to inspire and mentor students . Vernon, who represented Team GB at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, jumped at the chance to help out with a new healthy lifestyle project at Earl Mortimer College in Leominster, leaders said. The school created healthy lifestyle champions who help their peers with issue such as mental health, wellbeing as well giving tips on eating well and exercise. The athlete gave students a motivational talk about his career as an international athlete as he helped the champions put on a sports festival for fellow students. After retiring from athletics – where he competed alongside GB legends such as Tessa Sanderson and Linford Christie – Vernon became a youth worker and campaigner.
Young people taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards could go on urban expeditions or play computer games amid plans to boost numbers by the year 2026.
The awards were set up in 1956 by Prince Philip and it has since spread to more than 140 countries with millions of people taking part.
Ruth Marvel, its chief executive, now wants to expand it in the UK and has targeted reaching one million young people, up from its current 300,000.
The Duke of Edinburgh at a presentation reception for gold award holders in Edinburgh, 2017
Among its plans to attract new participants is to add urban expeditions to where the Brixton riots happened and the introduction of esports, according to The Times.
Philip s DIY growing up kit : Royal Family praise prince for transforming the lives of millions of young people after founding the Duke of Edinburgh s award scheme in 1956
Royal Family pays tribute to Prince Philip s work in setting up the Duke of Edinburgh s Award in Twitter tribute
Philip launched Award 65 years ago after being inspired by the Moray Badge while at Gordonstoun School
Scheme has now spread to more than 140 countries with 6.7million people having participated in it in Britain
Prince Philip was 34 when he first conceived the idea of a scheme to help bridge the gap between formal education and national service.
Inspired – or, as Philip put it, ‘pestered’ – by his headmaster at Gordonstoun school, Kurt Hahn, he worked to set up a challenge that allowed young men to make the best use of their free time and the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme (DofE) was born.
Now, 65 years on, more than 6.7million young men and women have participated in DofE programmes in the UK and achieved 3.1million awards. It is now offered in more than 140 countries.
The scheme is arguably the duke’s greatest legacy, having helped young people learn new skills, confidence and resilience – improving their life chances and employability.
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