Members from our North Northumberland Branch attended a Royal Visit by His Royal Highness, the Duke of Edinburgh, at Fox Barracks in Northumberland, on Wednesday 18 September. 

The branch was invited by Dr Caroline Pryer, the Lord-Lieutenant of Northumberland, in recognition of our charity’s Duke of Edinburgh Award programme specifically for autistic people, which is currently being piloted across the north of England. 

The event was attended by scouts and forces groups who are taking part in, or have completed, the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Members from our charity’s North Northumberland branch attended with five autistic girls who have completed their bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards with the branch. 

The girls spoke to the Duke of Edinburgh at the event, where they also shared photos from their expeditions and a display of crafts they had made for their Silver Award, including paintings, painted stones, felted items, knitting and crochet work.

Helen Sutherland, Chair of the North Northumberland Branch, spoke to the Duke of Edinburgh about the reasonable adjustments made for the group and presented him with a painted stone, depicting the award on one side and the branch details on the other.

Helen Sutherland said: "It was an honour to be part of such a brilliantly organised day, with an air of friendliness and celebration. I was so proud of the girls being able to portray what they have achieved in such a positive way and being able to speak to the Duke of Edinburgh with confidence." 

Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Edinburgh, has been our charity's Royal Patron since August 2003. The Duchess took over this role from Her Royal Highness, The Princess Royal, who worked actively with our charity for many years.

Our Duke of Edinburgh Award programme

We launched our Duke of Edinburgh Award programme specifically for autistic people in 2022 as a pilot for people in our schools, services and branches across the North of England. We hope to roll out the programme to people in all our services across the country in the future.

Many autistic people, especially those in specialist schools or services, miss out on the chance to get involved in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. This is often because of a lack of appropriate support and adaptions. Our pilot programme will make the Award more accessible by offering an inclusive and supportive environment that is tailored to the individual needs of the young people taking part. 

In 2023, thanks to the support of the ZVM Rangoonwala Foundation, we launched a Duke of Edinburgh Award Community of Practice to share good practice and advice on making the scheme more accessible to autistic young people.
 

Further Information

Read more about our Duke of Edinburgh Award programme.

Find out more about our Duke of Edinburgh Award Community of Practice.

Read more about our branches.