A teacher from Teignmouth has been honoured at Buckingham Palace for her dedication to the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Victoria Ratcliffe received a certificate to mark ten years of service to the Award while she teaches at St Peter’s School in Exeter.

However, Victoria has been involved in helping students gain the award for longer as she has also been involved in the DofE while working in previous schools.

Victoria was awarded her ten year service certificate at the scheme’s Gold Award ceremony at Buckingham Palace on Friday May 9.

Speaking to those attending the ceremony, Duke of Edinburgh His Royal Highness Prince Edward, said they should all be ‘incredibly proud’.

‘It was a real privilege to be invited,’ said Victoria.

As well as young people achieving the DofE Gold Award, Victoria got the opportunity to listen to inspiring speeches by guests including TV sports pundit and former England Lionesses footballer Alex Scott MBE. She also met TV presenter Dr Ranj Singh who appeared on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and presented the CBeebies show ‘Get Well Soon’.

The DofE scheme was set up by HRH Prince Philip in 1956. It was initially aimed at helping boys bridge the gap between leaving formal education at the age of 14 and starting national service at 18. Prince Philip hoped the award would improve their skills and encourage them to contribute to their communities and wider society.

Today’s scheme is open to any young person between the ages of 14 and 24. It challenges participants to develop skills, build confidence and make a difference to their communities through three progressive levels: Bronze, Silver and Gold.

Last year, a record 342,000 young people started their Duke of Edinburgh Awards.