A ceremony celebrating the achievements of over 140 local youngsters was held last Thursday as the annual Duke of Edinburgh (DofE) Awards Presentation got underway.

Young people aged 14 to 24 from across North Ayrshire gathered to receive their Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards at the special event.

Participants from Irvine, Arran and the Three Towns, as well as school groups from Greenwood, Irvine Royal, Kilwinning, Largs, Ardrossan, Garnock and Auchenharvie academies gathered to collect their certificates for successfully completing one of the DofE programmes.

The youngsters have all undertaken a range of activities over a period of several months to achieve their Bronze, Silver and Gold standards.

Some of the activities include a four-day coast-to-coast cycle from Plockton to Cromarty, sea kayaking around Arran, beach clean-ups and coaching children in sport – to name only a few.

On the night, participants from Greenwood, Kilwinning and Auchenharvie academies shared their DofE experience through video clips, photographs, music and speaking to the packed hall in St Matthew’s Academy.

As well as celebrating the achievements of all 144 DofE Award holders, the night also played host to two very special awards – the Jenny Ramsay MBE Quaich for Outstanding Commitment and the Alex Pettigrew Award.

Lewis Henry, 16, from Irvine was announced as the winner of the Jenny Ramsay MBE Quaich. Lewis is currently working through his Gold Award, having already completed both Bronze and Silver.

His dedication, commitment, hard work and thoughtlessness made him a deserving winner.

And Tommy Newall, 15, from Stevenston was presented with the Alex Pettigrew Award. This award is given to a young person who has recently enrolled on the DofE programme, but has demonstrated outstanding enthusiasm and character – and that is exactly what Tommy has displayed since he started his DofE journey.

A special mention was also given to North Ayrshire Council’s Chief Executive, Elma Murray, who was presented with her Diamond Challenge certificate as part of the DofE’s 60th Anniversary.

Bronze Awards

Jamie Lee Airlie, Ashley Aitken, Genna Allan, Paul Archer, Natasha Armstrong, Katie Barlow, Craig Black, Cameron, Blackwood, Megan Boyd, Elis Blackwood, Jack Blades, Robyn Borthwick, Teun Buis, Joost Buis, Bethany Burt, Liam Burgess, Emily Campbell, Lidia Carbonell, Laura Cartwright, Caitlin Cassidy, Holly Clarke, Chloe Colville, Toni Coyle, Lauren Crane, Rachel Crawford, Scott Cunningham, Charlotte Davidson, Calum Dickson, Colleen English, Eilidh Fairgrieve, Jordan Farrell, Iona Faulkner, Owen Finnigan, Kieran Fletcher, Chloe Frew, Olivia Frew, Andrew Gaw, Matthew Gaw, Chloe Gerrard, Alex Gibb, Holly Gibson, Erin Graham, Dylan Hamilton, Jordan Hay, Luke Hunter, Katelyn Jones, Sam

Kennedy, Laura Laing, Craig Laughlan, Rachel Lawson, Ewan Leitch, Taylor Lupton, Shelly Main, Paul Marshall, Emily McAlpine, Ana McCallum, Nathan McCallum, Jessica McConnell, Jodi McDowall, Ronan McEvoy, James McGlone, Emma McGregor, Craig McLellan, Sophie McVey, Ross McVey, Colleen Moore, Kaylie Moore, Adam Morrison, Finlay Morrow, Callum Murray, Tommy Newall, Rebekah Patterson, Derek Phillips, Ceri Priestley, Luke Rea, Hope Reekie, Anna Reid, Kieran Reid,

Jordan Robertson, Ewan Rogerson, Morgan Roy, Bethany Russell, Adina Santarossa, Craig Shaw, Blair Smith, Kathryn Smith, Johnnie Soutter, Jack Stevenson, Caitlin Stewart, Rachel Telfer, Emma Turner, Blair Wallace, Chloe Watson, Stephen Weston, Ben Wigton, Kendyl Wilson, Artur Zillich

Silver Awards

Shaun Allan, Tom Anderson, Katie Barlow, Lisa Black, Elis Blackwood, Katie Boyd, Ashleigh Brown, Georgia Catton, Regan Christie, Sandy Cousins, Abby Crombie, Jack Curlett, Keiron Cywinksi, Owen Finnigan, Matthew Gaw, Luca Giusti, Rachel Gorman, Murray Grayston, Jodie Guthrie, Rebecca Hale, Lewis Henry, Ryan Hodgson, Katelyn Irwin, Sam Kennedy, Christine McCurdie, Emma McGregor, Joseph McIlroy, Calvin Moffat, Jamie Murray, Cameron Norwood, Anastasia Paparakis, Andrew Parker, Jordan Robertson, James Simmons, Amy Tolland, Kieran Tulloch, Fraser Wallace, Chloe Watson, Billie Weaver, Rebecca Wyper

Gold Awards

Deynn Bryce, Sophie Gribben, Claire King, Rachel McIntosh, David MacKnight, David McKay, Ian Wakeman