Nineteen year old Keira Connolly from the Bideford area recently attended Buckingham Palace by invitation of His Majesty The King, to receive her Gold, Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Award.
Asked what had motivated her to complete not just the Bronze, but Silver and then Gold DofE awards, Keira said:
“Because it seemed fun. I really enjoyed the first, and did the second one. And by the time I finished that one, I was determined to do all three. Besides, my Gold also gave me something to do throughout lockdown, so I didn’t go insane.”
Each of the DofE Awards require the candidate to demonstrate aptitude in four key areas: volunteering, physical, skill, and expedition.
Keira was 14 years old and attending Bideford College when she started her Bronze DofE award. So while fellow College students were heading home at the end of the school day, Keira was stocktaking in the college library and re-stacking the book shelves. During spare time in school hours, she checked books in and out, and helped with the library’s film club.
She played netball for the school, and over a period of six months, Keira developed her cooking skills, each week following new recipes, cooking many different and often delicious dishes.
Her Bronze Award expedition took Keira on her first ever camping trip, and she completed the award in July 2018.
One year later, and Keira completed her Silver DofE Award, having volunteered to help students who needed extra support with their homework.
Hockey was Keira’s chosen sport this year, a passion she’s maintained, now continuing to play for her local club, Taw Valley, in their Ladies team, and in their seconds team.
She learned to crochet, again a love that she’s kept to this day, with a special interest in crocheting animals, and even a Harry Potter!
Keira’s Silver award took her on a two night, three day expedition on Dartmoor, walking and camping. Her group took photos of different tourist hotspots on the moor, and they created a presentation about why they thought those destinations are so popular to visitors.
And then 2020 set a different challenge for Keira’s Gold DofE Award with the coronavirus pandemic and a move to foster care.
Lockdowns meant that volunteering and team sports had to be re-drawn. Online volunteering with a charity that helps endangered animals, and daily running and remote access to her PE teacher at school, kept Keira on track. Her ‘skills’ this time tested her creative writing – some poetry, some fictional story-writing. And when coronavirus restrictions were gone, Keira spent three nights and four days kayaking the Exmoor coast, starting at Minehead and finishing in Combe Martin.
“We wild-camped on different beaches each evening,” said Keira. “This was by far one of the best parts of the entire DofE experience.
“The aim was to make the trip as environmentally friendly as possible, so on all the beaches we slept on, we litter-picked, collected what we found and took it with us on our kayaks. And at the end of the expedition, we recycled it.”
But Keira wasn’t done with camping. The Gold DofE Award requires one addition that Bronze and Silver don’t, a ‘residential’ element. It requires the candidate to go away to an area that they are not familiar with, to complete another expedition challenge with people they don’t know.
“I decided to go to Hathersage in the Peak District, and for five days and four nights we camped, and did all of the outdoor activities, including rock climbing, abseiling, weasling, outdoor first aid training, and bouldering,” says Keira. “I met people from all over the place – London, Hull, Colchester, even Switzerland. It was a big group of us.”
Keira finished her Gold DofE Award in March this year. She’s the first student ever at Bideford College to complete all three DofE Awards. They’re proud of her. And as someone who has been a child in our care, we’re also enormously proud of her.
Her foster carer, Julie, says she’s also really proud of Keira for all the work she’s done to achieve all three DofE Awards. She said:
“It has been wonderful to see Keira develop her skills, particularly kayaking and hearing about each section and seeing it progress.
“It was a very special moment being at Buckingham Palace to watch her receive her Gold Award.”
Councillor Andrew Leadbetter, Cabinet Member with responsibility for children’s services, said:
“I also congratulate Keira on such a tremendous achievement. Keira has shown such great ambition and determination, and we at Devon County Council are delighted that she should get this recognition. As corporate parents to all of our children in care, it is especially heartening to see our care experienced young people achieving and doing well.”
