Lord of the Rings star Martin Freeman’s golden gift for Rotherham guides

The Rotherham Ranger Guides award winners met the actor as he played guest presenter for a ceremony at St James’s Palace in London.

They included sisters Bethany, Georgia and Danielle Hoyland, plus Sophie Gibson, Abigail Moran and Laura Beever.

The guides, who are all aged 18, also met Prince Edward, The Earl of Wessex, along with guest presenter, Martin Freeman, who congratulated them on achieving the milestone. 

Ranger Guides is for all young women aged 14 to 18 years old and is part of Girlguiding UK. 

The gold award is the highest level of the DofE programme and can be completed by young people aged 16 to 23.

The participants explored new skills, challenges and opportunities to enhance their knowledge and abilities in five areas — volunteering, physical, skills, expedition and residential activities.

Award recipient Bethany said: “I am very proud to have achieved my Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award alongside my two sisters and friends.

“Completing my gold award has been immensely challenging and has taken around two years of commitment and dedication. 

“My most memorable moment was completing my gold training expedition in the Peak District with two members of the group I had not met before. 

“We had to get to know each other very quickly and work as a team to navigate our route and camp together but it was great to meet new people as part of my DofE.”

DofE programmes are personalised to the passions and needs of individuals, and the young women from Girlguiding South Yorkshire chose to take on a wide range of interests and pursuits, including volunteering at local Brownie units, rock climbing and learning to cook. 

DofE course leader Helen Cook said it had been an “absolute pleasure” to support the group from Herringthorpe’s senior section.

She added: “They have all progressed through the bronze, silver and gold levels of the award with Girlguiding South Yorkshire, learning new skills and contributing hours of volunteering time to their communities. 

“They have excelled on their expeditions despite challenging weather conditions and terrain”.