FORMER Olympian and Commonwealth Games medalist Diane Modahl presented medals to more than 60 Manchester Grammar School (MGS) boys who had completed the Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) programme.

She gave a rousing speech at the awards ceremony held at MGS on March 27 - telling students there’s “a gold medal in all of us”.

One of the star pupils at the ceremony was sixteen-year-old Manish Mandal, Sale.

Manish is the first student since DofE began at MGS to undertake an expedition using three modes of transport. Having already achieved his bronze award after completing a walking expedition, he received his silver award on Monday following a tough silver cycling expedition in the Yorkshire Dales. He has now transferred to gold and is planning two challenging canoe expeditions in the Scottish Borders.

Manish told us: “It was a big decision to take on these activities in addition to my school work, but I consider myself to be pretty headstrong and determined, so I was confident I could juggle the two and not drop any balls – or oars whilst canoeing.

"Admittedly it was tough going but I thrive off challenges, and that feeling of euphoria once you’ve completed the tasks is worth every minute of hard work.

"To top it off, my badge was presented to me by Olympian Diane Modahl – just fantastic! Her talk at the end of our award ceremony was so inspiring, it’s made me research my next personal challenge, as I now know I can do it.”

Eileen Thornber, Director of DofE at MGS, added: “We’re so proud of our boys – they really have gone above and beyond this year and I applaud Manish for his wonderful determination. Hopefully he will take his place in the MGS history books in the summer as the first pupil to walk, cycle and paddle his way to his award.”

Diane, from Sale, who is also chief executive and co-founder of the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation (DMSF), talked about her experiences running alongside British legends including Linford Christie, Sally Gunnell and Kriss Akabusi.

Vivienne Horsfield, Assistant Head at MGS, said: “Diane brought so much to our event; she inspired each and every one of us with tales of her athletics career and we were all so motivated by her words.”

Diane said: “It was fantastic to meet Manish and it was wonderful to see that sparkle of determination and resilience in his eyes. To commit to, and excel in, all three DofE disciplines is a superb achievement – which I know he’s proud of."