A sixteen-year-old from Coleraine who has gained so much confidence through her Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) that she’s ‘almost unrecognisable’, has been selected as a UK Youth Ambassador for the charity.
Holly Black joins a cohort of just 31 DofE Award holders aged 16-24 from all over the UK, who will advocate for young people by sharing their experience
of key issues impacting them. Together, they will make young people’s voices heard by
speaking at events, meeting key decision-makers in Parliament and beyond, and feeding into decisions to shape the direction of the DofE charity’s work.
Holly initially signed up for the DofE through school, as all of her friends were doing it. Nervous and shy, Holly admits that she was following the crowd, and would
never have signed up alone. She was daunted by nearly all aspects of the Bronze Award – she didn’t feel capable enough for the Physical section, she’d never been camping before, and the big challenge would be approaching someone for a volunteering opportunity.
Holly said: “I was so nervous about asking to volunteer.
I managed to build up the courage to introduce myself to youth leaders about getting involved again after losing any connections during lockdown.
I started helping out with the four- to seven-year-olds at my church, leading activities and discussions. I had to think on my feet and just figure things out. I thought I’d be so bad at it, but I realised that it just takes practice.”
Reflecting on her Physical section, Holly added:
“I felt like I was starting from square one. All of my friends had their own sports going on, and I was at a complete loss. I decided to keep it simple
and just go walking. I was able to get to know the area a bit more – I had no idea how beautiful the North Coast was. All the walking really helped me with the expedition; I would have been very unprepared without it. A lot of my friends ended up dropping
out of the expedition, which knocked my confidence, but I felt I’d come so far already and worked so hard that I couldn’t give up.”
‘I’d come so far and worked so hard – I couldn’t give up’
With a sense of accomplishment from finishing her Bronze Award, Holly decided to take her Silver Physical section one step further and went halves with her dad on a second-hand
treadmill to start running.
Holly added: “I was still so shy and nervous that I would
wake up really early to get my running done so that no one would hear me. That first run was so slow and difficult! The consistency I kept for my DofE meant that my fitness was steadily improving, and I eventually built up the courage to go outside. I was
worried that everyone would be staring at me, but I realise now that they really aren’t, and even if they are – who cares! I’ve started going to Parkrun
now, even involving my friends and encouraging them to get started!.”
‘Determined to keep going’
Holly’s school didn’t offer Silver DofE, so Holly and her cousin joined the 2nd
Coleraine Boys’ Brigade and were the only girls in the group. Unfortunately, her cousin sprained her ankle on the first day and had to go home.
Holly said:
“I remember lying awake worried about if I
would manage to even keep up, but the boys were really supportive and I have amazing memories from my Silver expedition!. My Boys’ Brigade don’t deliver Gold, so I’ve since signed up for Scouts, where I don’t know anyone at all! It’s such a
massive difference from where I was before Bronze. Family and friends barely recognise me now because of how far I’ve come, and I always tell them that it’s DofE that gave me my confidence.”
‘DofE gave me my confidence’
Funded by The Gosling Foundation, the Youth Ambassador programme puts young people front and centre as future leaders, involving them in shaping the DofE’s work to benefit other young people.
DofE Youth Ambassadors have met Ministers and MPs, spoken at high-profile events such as party conferences and DofE Gold Award celebrations in Buckingham Palace Garden,
represented the DofE at international forums and played a pivotal role feeding into key decisions across the charity.
Ashley Williams, UK Youth Engagement Manager at The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, said:
“Holly has achieved incredible things through her DofE. As a charity, we’re committed to putting young people at the heart of everything we do and give them the opportunity
to make a positive, lasting impact on the issues they are passionate about. I am excited to see the impact that our new cohort of Youth Ambassadors will make this year.
“It is a challenging time to be a young person, with cutbacks to youth services, rising living costs, and a mental health and school attendance crisis. Now more than
ever, it’s crucial that all young people can access opportunities like the DofE, which let them have fun, grow their resilience and self-belief, and develop vital skills they can’t always get in the classroom.”
A record-breaking number of young people started
their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award across the UK in 2024-25, with 572,802 young people actively taking part, 342,412 young people starting their Award – and participants contributing an astonishing 5.2 million hours of volunteering, with an estimated total value
of £33.4 million.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award wants to see 1.6 million young people start their DofE by Spring 2026. It has launched ambitious projects to fund schools and
community organisations in the UK’s most deprived areas to start offering the DofE, to expand into more prisons and young offender institutions, and to support more young people with additional needs and disabilities to achieve their DofE Awards.
