12 February 2010
Lord Mayor pays tribute to pupils’ golden achievement
Former pupils from King Edwards School, Witley and the City of
London Girls School who successfully completed the Gold Duke of
Edinburgh Award today visited Mansion House where the Lord Mayor of
the City of London, Nick Anstee, presented them with badges or
lapel pins to commemorate their achievements.
13 youngsters from the two schools successfully completed the
programme in 2009/10.
The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nick Anstee,
commented:
“With record numbers of pupils applying to university and the UK
job market continuing to shrink, today’s youngsters need to stand
out from the crowd in order to succeed.
“Teamwork, leadership, initiative, drive and determination;
these are all core skills that potential employers and university
admissions staff are looking for in their newest recruits. The Gold
Duke of Edinburgh Award demands all of these things and much
more.
“I have no doubt that the young men and women I met today will
go on to become the leaders of tomorrow – in whichever field they
choose to work - and I wish them every success in their future
endeavours.
“I would also like to thank the many teachers and award leaders
involved in the programme – their dedication and expertise is vital
to its continuing success.
“But most of all, I would like to congratulate all those who
successfully completed the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award – it was a
great honour for me to welcome each and every one of them to
Mansion House in order to celebrate this tremendous
achievement.”
Amongst today’s attendees was Ibthayhaj Gani, the City of
London’s representative in the Youth Parliament. Ibthayhaj is also
amongst of the first wave of pupils from the City of London Academy
in Southwark to be taking part in the Gold Duke of Edinburgh Gold
Award.
The City of London’s member of Youth Parliament, Ibthayhaj Gani,
added:
“I wanted to give something back to my community and, for the
voluntary element of my Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, I have been
providing Bengali tuition for young children at a local school
where my mum is a teacher.
Looking forward, it is my ambition to become a full time Member
of Parliament, or maybe even a future Lord Mayor of the City of
London.
The Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award represents a microcosm of
life’s challenges and has helped me develop the skills I will need
in order to achieve my goals.”
Ends
Notes for editors
About The City of London Corporation:
The City of London Corporation is a uniquely diverse organisation.
It supports and promotes the City as the world leader in
international finance and business services and provides local
services and policing for those working in, living in and visiting
the Square Mile. It also provides valued services to London and the
nation. These include the Barbican Centre and the Guildhall School
of Music & Drama; the Guildhall Library and Art Gallery and
London Metropolitan Archive; a range of education provision
(including three City Academies); five Thames bridges (including
Tower Bridge and the Millennium Bridge); the Central Criminal Court
at Old Bailey; over 10,000 acres of open spaces (including
Hampstead Heath and Epping Forest), and three wholesale food
markets. It is also London’s Port Health Authority and runs the
Animal Reception Centre at Heathrow. It works in partnership with
neighbouring boroughs on the regeneration of surrounding areas and
the City Bridge Trust, which it oversees, donates more than £15m to
charity annually.
Press contact
James Abbott
Press Officer – the City of London Corporation
07920 828 421
020 7332 1754
james.abbott@cityoflondon.gov.uk