A former student of Bradley Stoke Community School (BSCS) has been presented with her gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award at a ceremony attended by several members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.
Heidi Sermulins completed her bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh Awards at BSCS and then joined a group of students from Bristol Cathedral Choir School to complete her ‘gold’ before she joined the Royal Navy.
In the ceremony, held in the palace grounds on Thursday 17th May, Heidi’s group from Bristol was addressed by HRH The Earl of Wessex and she was presented with her certificate by the actress Nina Wadia (best known for her role as Zainab Masood in the BBC’s EastEnders).
But this wasn’t to be the end of Heidi’s mingling with royalty, as her mum, Alex, explains:
“Later on, as we were walking around the palace gardens, The Princess Royal spotted Heidi in her Navy uniform and headed directly towards us to engage her in conversation. They discussed her Duke of Edinburgh’s Award achievements and the princess congratulated Heidi on attaining all three awards, which is quite unusual.”
“She also asked her about her Navy training and wished her well for her future after, saying: ‘Well you’ve had a busy twelve months’!”
Heidi said she was amazed at how “natural and engaging” Princess Anne had been, and later commented to her mum that she couldn’t believe she had “actually been talking to the Queen’s daughter!”
Proud mum Alex told the Journal:
“Memories of this special day will remain with us for many years to come.”
Photos: (Left) Heidi chats with The Princess Royal; and (right) holding her certificate.
This article originally appeared in the June 2018 issue of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine (on page 35). The magazine is delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to ALL 8,700 homes in Bradley Stoke. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
