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Volunteer wins gold Duke of Edinburgh award after training with Western Isles women’s football team

Shana Macphail from Nicolson Open Group received a Gold Award at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Image: Western Isles Council.
Shana Macphail from Nicolson Open Group received a Gold Award at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Image: Western Isles Council.

A Western Isles volunteer has won a gold Duke of Edinburgh award after training with the women’s football team.

Shana Macphail, from Tong on the Isle of Lewis, attended the largest school on the Western Isles – the Nicolson Institute.

She received her prize in the gardens of Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

As part of her award, the 21-year-old volunteered for a charity shop for 12 months, working once a week.

She also trained with the Western Isles Women’s football team twice each week and coached school children.

The celebration event for the awards, which was attended by Prince Edward, the Earl of Forfar, was the first held since 2019 due to the pandemic.

Harris expedition wettest in 20 years

Shana said: “For my expedition, we walked from Ardroil to Scaladale over four days and three nights.

“During this time we experienced the wettest 24 hours in Harris for 20 years. Each day we covered an average of six miles to keep us on track to finish in time.”

Shana also visited Gambia with the Gambia Partnership Charity, where she visited a village school and took the kids for footballing sessions.

She added: “The expedition taught me how to work well as a team as well as remaining focused on the task no matter what.”

In total, over six million people have participated in DofE programmes in the UK and achieved over 2.7 million Awards since 1956.

In 2018/2019, nearly 21,000 young people in Scotland enrolled on a DofE programme.

At Shana’s ceremony on July 5, 675 people from Scotland received their gold awards.

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