A Royal date with the golden touch for Tim Hou.

Hundreds of young achievers from across the UK have a date in the prestigious setting of St James’s Palace on 15th May, including Tim Hou from Croydon.

Tim Hou attended Wilson’s School in Sutton where he was the first pupil to achieve their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award.

He will travel to London on May 15th to receive his certificate from the DofE’s Patron and Founder – HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Gold Award Presentation (GAP) is a celebration and recognition of Tim’s achievements in completing his Gold DofE programme.

The GAP is a unique event and a fitting culmination to mark the hard work, determination and perseverance required.

Tim worked tirelessly through the five sections of his DofE programme over four years to achieve his Gold Award.

His diverse activities included

a) learning to play the guitar;

b) volunteering with the local Beavers Unit;

c) training, improving and passing a number of grades in fencing;

d) developing a DofE website at school to promote and inform other pupils of the organisation;

e) volunteering to help train other younger pupils in the DofE awards including giving lessons and accompanying them on the expeditions;

f)assisting in the training and managing of new recruits to the army section of the CCF;

g) training for and completing a number of expeditions ranging from one night to three nights including a particularly challenging ten day trip to Bavaria to undertake a joint DofE/CCF expedition; and

h) completing a residential trip to Surrey University to undertake different Engineering challenges over the course of a week.

Throughout his DofE, Tim was able to prove himself to be reliable, organised, determined, and both a leader and team member making constant decisions and solving problems.

Tim said of his experience “It has been a fantastic experience and opportunity to gain new skills and develop as a person.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed doing the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and am now training to become an assessor, regularly helping out with expeditions and encouraging more pupils to achieve the award.”

These experiences show what an impact doing your DofE can have and can develop the skills needed for life.

Tim’s Gold Award helped him gain a scholarship place at Surrey University where he is now studying for a Masters Degree in Civil Engineering with Mott MacDonald as the sponsoring company.

Based on information supplied by Tim Hou.