A SCHOOL student mixed with royalty at Buckingham Palace when she received her Duke of Edinburgh gold award from 2008 Olympic champion cyclist Nicole Cooke.

Caldicot School pupil Kaitlyn Guy attended the presentation in the gardens of the palace, where she also shared her experiences with The Countess of Wessex.

The event was also attended by the Earl of Wessex, Prince Edward, and The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip.

During the gold award presentation, the Countess congratulated 18-year-old Kaitlyn together with others in the Welsh group, and heard about their DofE journeys, which took each young person 12 to 18 months of hard work and dedication.

Kaitlyn said: “This has been a wonderful day and a great experience. The DofE has given me the opportunity to get involved with new things and to volunteer for the local community where I am now an adult leader for the Caldicot Brownie group.

“HRH the Countess of Wessex was impressed when I told her I am to study mechanical engineering at university. I would recommend this experience to all young people, it helps to build skills and self-confidence for now and for the future.”

Kaitlyn is studying A-level maths, physics and chemistry and hopes to study mechanical engineering at Bath University.

She participated in a four-day and three-night night self-sufficient walking and camping expedition in the Lake District for her DofE award, which involved team working and using traditional navigation skills such as map and compass to find the route and preparing meals as a group.

There was also a residential element where she spent five days as an assessor helping monitor DofE silver award teams on an expedition in the Black Mountains.   

Her local community volunteering element saw Kaitlyn supporting a Caldicot Brownie group every Wednesday, during which she qualified as an adult assessor. She has been coaching and mentoring young girls on new skills and getting them involved in new experiences and projects. 

For her new skill she learnt to drive and passed her driving test, plus there was a physical fitness requirement she had to achieve.