The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award recipients welcomed to Holyrood Palace
The young people have worked to gain their awards in schools, youth groups and at work all over Scotland.
Gardens at the palace were transformed with giant deckchairs, bunting, garden games and other activities.
VIPs in attendance included Eilish McColgan the Olympic athlete, singer Nathan Evans and Scottish actor James Cosmo.
Eilish said: 'There are many similarities between the DofE and my athletics club. Not just in the obvious areas like hard work and discipline, but that sense of community. Being surrounded by likeminded individuals, all striving to make themselves better.
'In 2011, I ran in my first ever live televised race. Dreaming of qualifying for the world championships. But with 600m to go. I heard a pop. I knew instantly I'd broken my foot. But me being me, and a typical stubborn Scot, I wasn't going to let a broken foot stop me. I kept running.
'Sadly, it wasn't the fairytale ending. Finishing the race came at a cost. A few days later the surgeon told me I'd never run professionally again but suggested I could 'hobby jog'. It was one of the toughest moments of my life, but like many of you on your DofE journeys, I'd learned the value of resilience, of showing up, and of not giving up when things get hard.
'I think if I didn't have my friends from the running club to distract me, my recovery would have looked very different. Instead, I really leant on my support network. Even when I couldn't run, I'd still go down to the track just to keep my motivation high. I truly believe that made a huge difference.'
Eilish told the crowd that the resilience of the DofE 'stays with you' and 'whatever comes next, remember this: you're running your own race.'
She said: 'As you move on from your DofE journey into your next chapter – whether that's university, work, or something completely different – I really encourage you to find that 'DofE feeling' again. Finding your people, your place, your purpose – it matters more than we often realise. You've proven what you're capable of once, and you'll do it again, and again.'
A Gold DofE Award is a major achievement – young people spend at least 12 months honing new skills and talents, planning and completing an expedition and residential, and volunteering for a cause they are passionate about.
Helen Anderson, Director for Scotland, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award, said: 'It's a real honour and a privilege to be celebrating our amazing Gold Award holders in the gardens of The Palace of Holyroodhouse today. I've seen thousands of smiling faces and proud family members looking on – and rightfully so, as these young people have shown extraordinary perseverance, creativity and self-belief to be here. A Gold DofE Award will equip them with lifelong skills – and it's wonderful to see our Award holders sharing their experiences, having fun, and discussing their plans for the future.
'Last year, over 20,000 young people started their DofE in Scotland, showing just how much appetite there is for enrichment opportunities beyond formal education. Together with our volunteers, partners and supporters, we want to reach as many young people as possible – so that even more can take part in a life-changing DofE Award.'
In Scotland 33,816 young people actively took part in the DofE in 2024/25, 20,363 young people started their DofE, and participants contributed an incredible 351,156 hours of volunteering – with an estimated total value of £2.2 million.
EIlish McColgan
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh speaking with young people who have achieved their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award
Singer Nathan Evans
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh
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The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Great Scots coach who was ‘way ahead of his time' dies
Dennis was born in Aberdeen in 1940, the second of four brothers born to parents James and Elsie. All four played hockey, following the sporting path set by their father, who played for Aberdeen Hockey Club and whose creed was to ensure his boys played as many sports as possible. By a strange coincidence, Dennis shared his primary school years at Kittybrewster with another Denis. But that was about as close as Dennis Haw and Denis Law became despite playing in the same football and cricket teams. After primary school, it was off to Aberdeen Grammar School for Dennis, where his skills in hockey were soon recognised, with Scottish schools caps in 1957 and 1958 and selection for the North District men's team while still a schoolboy. After school, Dennis trained as a primary and PE teacher at Jordanhill College, Glasgow, and then worked in the city, playing for Western, out of which he won his first Scotland cap in 1964 against Ireland. He then held posts at Melville College in Edinburgh, Perth Grammar School, Drummond High School and Balerno High School. It was the start of a stellar Scotland international career that spanned 10 years, during which time he played at club level with Glasgow Western and then Inverleith in Edinburgh. In all, he won a record 63 caps for Scotland, a prodigious achievement at a time when there were far fewer international games than in the present era. Two years after winning his first cap, Dennis was selected for the GB squad's 1966 tour to Australia, a sporting experience that came at the personal financial cost of one-quarter of his teacher's annual salary. Read more Dennis also toured India with the GB squad, playing in front of a crowd of 30,000 in one game, and crowned a glittering hockey career by representing his country in the (infamous) 1972 Munich Olympics. Additionally, Dennis played for Scotland's indoor hockey squad, representing his country in the first European indoor championships qualifying tournament in Paris (1973) and the finals in Berlin (1974), playing alongside such luminaries as Chris Sutherland. His playing career was built not just on technical skills but on his ability to analyse moves. Dennis was the classic midfielder, able to read games skilfully and work out the tactical answers to achieving victory. It was this forensic mind, allied to good communication skills, that made coaching the next natural progression of his career in hockey. He was appointed to the role of coaching Scotland men at the European indoor championships in Novara (1975) and the finals in Arnhem (1976). Then, in 1982, Dennis began a six-year term as head coach of the Scotland ladies' team, the highlight of which was playing in the Hockey World Cup finals. Further recognition of his coaching abilities followed in 1988 when Dennis was asked to take charge of the GB ladies' squad for the Seoul Olympics, their fourth finishing place a testament to Dennis's skilful mentoring of the team. Four years later, he achieved unarguably the apogee of his coaching career when he led the GB ladies' squad to their bronze medal finish at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. After retiring from his teaching post at Balerno, he accepted the invitation to become director of coaching at Edinburgh University. There, he designed a multi-team programme and within a year Edinburgh University, whose status in hockey had diminished, was back in the top flight of the Scottish game. Dennis is survived by his wife Anne, three sons Alan, Brian and Neil, and four grandchildren. ALAN LORIMER
The National
2 hours ago
- The National
Aaron Doran indebted to Scottish game for pulling him back from abyss
Learning that this supremely gifted footballer, an individual who scaled some giddy heights during his time in Scottish football and who only turned 34 back in May, is now a member of the ordinary nine-to-five workforce was surprising. It felt wrong in fact. Should Doran not really be preparing to help Scott Kellacher's side launch an assault on the League One title in the 2025/26 campaign? Does he not still have something to offer Caley Thistle as they attempt to climb back up the divisions? Could he not give his old side a vital cutting edge in the final third? This is the man whose cheeky pass to Marley Watkins before the opening goal in the Scottish Cup final against Falkirk at Hampden back in 2015 is seared into the subconscious of every one of the Highland club's supporters forever. The Irishman himself, though, is more than content with his lot just now. He is grateful that he is able to bring home a regular wage, pay his mortgage and put food on the table for his young family. This time last year the father-of-three was in a dark place both professionally and personally. He had no idea what the future held for him either on the park or off it. Read more: The winger had been shamefully, after over 13 years of outstanding service and more than 400 games, released while he was awaiting an operation for the anterior cruciate ligament injury which he had suffered in a Championship match against Raith Rovers at the Caledonian Stadium just two months earlier. The surgery he was scheduled to receive was cancelled twice without any reason being given. Nobody from the club hierarchy bothered to call him, never mind speak to him face-to-face, to let him know that he wasn't going to be offered an extension. He received his P45 via email. 'I was definitely angry,' said Doran as he looked back on the appalling episode. 'But I was worried as well at the time. I was constantly trying to get in contact with the club, to speak to the people who were in charge. At times they would get back to me and say, 'Yeah, sure, we'll help you, we'll do this, we'll do that'. But eventually they just gave me the cold shoulder, just blanked me entirely. It was a really stressful period. 'I was 32 when I got injured. My contract was due to run out. So I understood the people upstairs at the club were probably thinking, 'We could do without giving him another deal. Then we won't have to pay for his operation. This is a chance for us to save ourselves some money'. 'To be honest, I would have been fine if they had just spoken to me and said, 'We're in financial difficulties, we haven't got the funds to pay for the surgery, we need to let you go'. But to go about it the way they did was wrong. 'I came out and spoke about it in the media. I just felt so strongly about what the club had done, not just to me but to a good few players. I had been at the club for a long time, for over 13 years. I had gone in nearly every day for over a decade and given my all. If they had been honest with me it really wouldn't have been a problem. To be treated like that in the end wasn't great. It was hard.' (Image: SNS Group Jeff Holmes) His friend and former Caledonian Thistle team mate Shane Sutherland had been through exactly the same harrowing experience the year before. The Brora Rangers striker was so incensed when he learned that history was repeating itself that he set up a Go Fund Me page online in an attempt to raise enough money to pay for the career-saving surgery. The contributions soon started to flood in. 'Shane hadn't been happy about getting released while he was injured,' said Doran. 'He didn't like the comments which were made to him at the time either. There was uproar about what happened to him as well. There was definitely a bit of anger there with Shane about how the club treated him. 'He set up the crowdfunding page for me. He didn't ask me if he could do it, he just set it up off his own back. But he spoke to me afterwards and said, 'Even if you only make £500, it's money towards the operation'. Nobody really expected it to get to where it got to. But it made the £10,000 I needed in two days. 'I was really touched. As well as Caley Thistle fans, a few of my former managers and team mates as well as old opponents of mine donated. It was definitely emotional looking at the page and seeing all the names. 'My old bosses John Hughes, John Robertson and Billy Dodds put money in. But so did Kris Boyd and the Souttar brothers, John and Harry. Lewis Vaughn at Raith Rovers sent money too. He has had four ACL injuries himself in his career. I had played against them, but I didn't know them personally. I honestly couldn't believe it when I saw what they had done. 'I just kept looking at the page and thinking, 'Wow! Wow! Wow!' I really appreciated what everybody did for me. Together, they got me the surgery that I needed. It is only because of those players, those managers and those fans that I am back training and playing again now.' Read more: His problems, though, were far from over after he went under the knife. He quickly realised the hopelessness of his predicament as he started his rehabilitation. He was incapacitated, he had no prospect of getting back playing any time soon and he had no money coming in. 'My leg was still in a brace, I couldn't walk, I was on crutches,' said Doran. 'On top of that, I had no job and I knew that I wasn't going to be able to play football for between nine months and 12 months. I didn't think any team would want me anywhere near them. It was a bit of a bleak position to be in.' Salvation came at Strathspey Thistle. Ryan Esson, another Scottish Cup winner who had not been shown the respect which he deserved when he was unceremoniously shown the exit door at Caley Thistle, had just taken over as manager at the ambitious Highland League outfit. He asked his old mucker if he would like to become player-coach. Doran jumped, metaphorically not literally, at the opportunity. He has not had cause to regret his decision on any level. 'It was perfect,' he said. 'I don't think any other club would have done that for me. I was still going to be out for a long time. So it was a good opportunity for me. It has helped me so much over the last year. 'Becky Musset, who was the physio when I was at Inverness, became the Strathspey physio around that time as well. She's been rehabbing me for the last year. So it has worked out pretty well for me. 'I had been thinking about coaching for a while and I had started my B Licence during the Covid season. I think I can see things on a football pitch, I think I can help players. I have learned a little off every manager I have played under since I worked with Sam Allardyce and Terry Butcher.' (Image: SNS Group Ross Parker) Doran is not, though, ready to retire from playing quite yet. He made his return from injury after 14 tumultuous months out in Strathspey's first pre-season friendly against, in a strange quirk of fate, an Inverness Caledonian Thistle Under-19 side at Seafield Park last month. True to form, he scored after coming off the bench. 'It was definitely strange playing against a team in that top,' he said. 'But it was good to get back out there again and great to get a goal. I think I have a few years left in me as a player. I was actually itching to get out onto the pitch last season. If I can get strong again, I think I have a good few years in the Highland League.' Doran will don an Inverness strip at the Caledonian Stadium once again this afternoon before taking to the field with his daughters Keeva, Ayla and Georgie by his side for his long overdue testimonial match against County. New owner Alan Savage gave the game the go-ahead shortly after he had completed his protracted £800,000 takeover last month and so ensured that one of the club's all-time greats will receive a fitting send-off. It is a gesture which suggests that far better times lie ahead. 'Alan agreed to it straight away,' said the player. 'In the past, my testimonial committee proposed games which never suited the people in charge. We could never seem to get it over the line. 'But Alan and Charlie [chief executive Christie] okayed it in about 10 minutes. I think it shows what type of people they are. They want to look after people. Alan has said that players will get the treatment they need going forward. It is good to hear.' It is certainly a far cry from the club which he left in such unfortunate circumstances last year. The financial implosion which occurred in October came as little surprise to those who had witnessed events behind the scenes at close quarters. Read more: 'Towards the end of my time, we noticed there were things getting spoken about that didn't have a lot to do with football, battery farms, concerts, things like that,' said Doran. 'There were a lot of things happening which didn't make a lot of sense. 'We used to get paid on time all the time and then all of sudden we weren't. So we knew there was something going on. As footballers, you just train and play. But there was a big difference from when I had first joined the club. It wasn't being run as well. I could see the change.' He continued, 'The club was in such a negative place when I left. They were talking about the move to Kelty, then the financial problems arose and after that there was administration. It is really good to see how positive it all is now. 'I think they're going to do really well this season, I think they will get promotion. It will be good to see them get back into the Championship and then see where they can go from there.' Doran, who originally hails from Inchicore in Dublin and who represented the Republic of Ireland Under-21 side as a young man, has come an awfully long way, both geographically and professionally, since leaving school and joining Blackburn Rovers back in 2008. (Image: SNS Group Rob Casey) 'I came over when I was just 16,' he said. 'Irish players actually can't do that any longer due to Brexit and FIFA regulations. But one of my team mates in the side I played for in Dublin signed at the same time so that made the move a little bit easier. We lived in a big lodge on the training ground and a family looked after us. 'The first season I was there they were a UEFA Cup team so there were high standards. Mark Hughes was the manager when I first went in and then Paul Ince took over and Sam Allardyce came in after that. But I progressed pretty quickly from the academy to the reserves to the first team. 'It all happened really quickly for me. I made my debut when I was 17. The guys I have played with over the years are probably sick of hearing me talk about it, but I played for Blackburn at the Etihad Stadium, at Stamford Bridge and at Anfield in the Premier League. It was a really proud time for me. 'I made my debut against Liverpool in a game at Anfield that was live on Sky Sports. I came on after half-time. My family were watching on television back home and it was a really emotional moment for them. I thought I would stay involved at the highest level, but, unfortunately for me, it was not to be.' Maybe that should be fortunately. His association with Caley Thistle has been a long and profitable one for both parties. 'One day in January I was called into a room and told I was going to Inverness on loan,' he said. 'Jonny Hayes had scored for Caley Thistle in a 1-1 draw with Rangers the month before and I remembered it. So I knew a little bit about them. 'I Googled them and saw they were in third place in the Premiership. But I didn't know how far they were until I actually drove up. It was a bit of a shock. But they were in a great place at that time. 'Straight away, I loved it. I was young, I got into the starting XI and I played every week. There was a good young squad and I got along with all the other players. After my six months were up it was a pretty easy decision to sign for them. I had a few other options, but I thought it would be best to play as much as I can at my age. 'I have always been proud to be part of the team. We finished in the top six of the Premiership three years in a row, got to the League Cup final, won the Scottish Cup, played in Europe. We went toe to toe with the biggest clubs. We beat Celtic, we beat Rangers. To do all that with a club like Inverness was a great achievement.' Read more: The Scottish Cup win over Falkirk 10 years ago was unquestionably his greatest accomplishment. But the man who set up Watkins for the opener when he dinked the ball between advancing Falkirk defenders Kieran Duffie and David McCracken was almost left on the bench. 'Yogi [Hughes] had a bit of a headache about who to play that day,' said Doran. 'He worried about me getting back down the park sometimes and it was in his mind to play more of a defensive winger. But I got the nod and I was happy to contribute to the opening goal with a nice assist. 'I want to score, to provide an assist, to try and impress, to make things happen, every time I go out on the park. I think I did that on a few occasions. I did that day and was pleased. But I did the defensive work as well. 'We stopped off in a pub in Auchterarder on the way home afterwards and Yogi came up to me, gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, 'I knew you'd pull it out of the bag for me'. I had what I was going to do when I got the ball in my head. I thought their centre-half was going to come out and leave half a yard of space. It worked out perfectly. 'On the training pitch, Yogi's definitely the best coach I've worked under. He wanted to play the football that I like to play. I think everybody learned a lot off him and became a better player. He was a joy to work with. Off the training ground, though, he was a bit of a headcase, a mad man. If you ever found yourself in his office with him you were always trying to get out as quickly as you could.' (Image: Paul Byars - SNS Group) Doran was never in any rush to get away from Inverness. Injuries unquestionably prevented him from achieving his enormous potential as a player. However, he turned down the opportunity to move on to larger clubs in both Scotland and England for more money on more than one occasion. The laidback way of life, the warmth of the people and the stunning scenery have suited this free spirit. 'I love the area,' he said. 'It's a beautiful part of the world to be. I prefer to be somewhere like Aviemore, where I live now, than Dublin or Manchester. I like the freedom that you have up here. Maybe that has a part to play in my longevity at Caley Thistle.' Doran confessed that leaving the relatively cossetted world of professional football and getting a real job for the first time in his adult life had been something of a shock to his system. 'The CEO of Strathspey is also the CEO of The MacKellar Group,' he said. 'He has really looked after me. But, yeah, it has definitely taken a bit of adjusting. I am out in the workshop now. I am learning every day. Everything I do is completely new to me.' Facing Ross County will hold no fears for Doran. He always raised his game for the Highland derby matches and found the target against the Dingwall men on a fair few occasions. It is one of many reasons why the cult hero is so loved in Inverness and will be given a warm send-off by Caledonian Thistle fans this afternoon in his final El Kessocko. 'I have scored more goals against County than any other team,' he said. 'I have scored a few nice ones too. I always enjoyed playing against them. They were the best opponents I could get for my testimonial. I am looking forward to it.'
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Callum Beattie and Peter Andre to headline Checkout Scotland
The Scottish Committee of GroceryAid confirmed Callum Beattie and Peter Andre will perform at the trade-only festival on August 28 at the Barras Art & Design. The event, which is already seeing tickets sell quickly, will host more than 600 retail industry colleagues for a night of music, while raising awareness and funds for GroceryAid, a charity supporting individuals in the grocery industry. Read more: Retired professor nears end of 5,000-mile UK trek that began in Glasgow Callum, a Scottish chart-topping singer-songwriter, will perform just weeks before his anticipated show at the 12,000-capacity OVO Hydro. Peter, a global music and TV star, will join him as a joint headline act at the festival.
