The Priory School Dorking was the setting for tonight's Mole Valley Duke of Edinburgh Presentation Evening. YMS students joined young people from other Mole Valley secondary schools and youth groups to receive their certificates from Inspector Richard Hamlin (neighbourhood commander for Mole Valley Police). Gold awards were presented to Qian Hui Ho and Philip Nelson and bronze awards given to Nicole Petrus Barracks, Lucia Polo Moreno and Sally Lee, watched by YMS Duke of Edinburgh Coordinator Jenny Dexter, Headmaster Dr Richard Hillier and Elaine Hillier, as well as YMS Governor Vanessa Richards.
Presentations were punctuated by performances and other contributions from the participating schools. YMS's representative was guitarist Kevin Loh (who gained a silver award last year) who demonstrated the 'skill' offered by YMS students in their completion of DofE awards, namely musical performance, in his case a piece by Villa Lobos.
Other YMS students who gained DofE awards this year but were unable to attend the presentations were Jean-François Carrière, Leyla Cemiloglu, Joon Hurh (bronze), and Rosie Bennet and Sharon Wong (gold).
Particular congratulations are due to Qian Hui, Philip, Rosie and Sharon - the first YMS students ever to attempt to gain the gold award.