TIMPERLEY’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Centre is celebrating its first Gold Award completions and has just announced plans to recruit over 120 members for its fourth year, which launches later this month.

Earlier this year Sir Graham Brady MP presented over 95 awards at Bronze and Silver Level to members from the Timperley Duke of Edinburgh Centre based at Holy Cross Church, Timperley.

Gold Awards take longer to complete and two members, Dan Hart and Alex Mollard, will be presented with their awards by a member of the Royal Family at St James Palace, London.

Dan explained the benefits of the Award.

He said: “Doing Gold Duke of Edinburgh at Timperley has been a great experience.

“I’ve met new people, learnt new skills and achieved a qualification that will be looked upon highly by future employers and universities.

“Although it was a challenge, and a big step up from the Silver award, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone.”

The Vicar of Timperley, Rev Jim Bridgman congratulated the teams on their achievements.

He said: “We launched the Duke of Edinburgh Centre in 2015 and we’ve grown to over 120 members, who last year collectively spent over 3,000 hours volunteering in the local community.

“We’ve had a team working on our gardens at the Parish Hall and members have worked with sports teams, other youth groups, with the elderly and for charity shops throughout the parish”.

Centre Manager, Andy Allan, added: “We are really proud of our member’s achievements.

“They all worked hard and we look forward to celebrating their success at our annual presentation and the gold presentations in London.

“None of this would be possible without the adult volunteer team who invest their time to train and support our members.

“Plans are already in place for the new academic year and we look forward to welcoming new members and their parents”.

An Open Afternoon for young people who would like to know more about the Duke of Edinburgh Award, as well as their parents and adults interested in volunteering to help at the centre, will be held from 3pm onwards on Sunday, September 30 at Holy Cross Church Hall, Park Road, Timperley.