Erin Achieves Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award
June 10, 2026
Achieving the highest Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award – gold – was a challenge and an amazing experience for former Casey Grammar School student, Erin Bedford.
Erin, 19, who graduated from Casey Grammar and completed the Duke of Ed program in 2024, received its prestigious – and rare – Gold Award at a recent Government House presentation ceremony.
Founded by the late HRH The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956, the program challenges 14 to 24-year-olds and helps them find their purpose, passion and place in the world.
Few achieve gold status. Those who do must complete regular, sustained activity across Skill Development, Voluntary Service, Physical Recreation, Adventurous Journey and a Residential Project.
Erin learned to drive manual cars, participated and taught at Shukokai Karate Dojos, hiked at Hoadley Hide 2023, orienteered at a Venturer Amazing Race and completed outdoor adventure courses.
Now studying cyber security at RMIT, she completed the challenge despite Covid affecting group activities during earlier stages. Her Scouting experience also helped.
After joining Scouts Australia aged seven, Erin completed its then Queen’s Scout Award and Duke of Ed Bronze at just 15. She is now aiming for the ultimate Rover Scout achievement, the Baden-Powell Award.
Erin is thrilled to be recognised and says the key to success in Scouting and the Duke of Ed is being organised, time management, leadership, flexibility, resilience, and keeping good records.
“Peak awards, like the King’s Scout Award and Duke of Edinburgh Award build resilience, leadership, and time management; qualities that will help in the workforce and life in general,” she says.
“Completing the award builds confidence and life skills and brings a sense of accomplishment. I learnt new skills, overcame adversity and developed friendships along the way.”
Principal Fiona Williams says it is terrific to see Erin’s exceptional skills, persistence and resilience recognised.
“Erin dedicated many hours on top of her school commitments to achieving this award, which is truly admirable,” Ms Williams says.
“She also had to navigate the Covid years and demonstrate a great deal of adaptability. We are extremely proud of Erin’s achievement and the well-deserved accolades it brings.”
Erin Describes Some of the Activities Involved
For my Gold Level Practice Journey I participated in a competitive Venturer Hike called Hoadley Hide. In our team we hiked, walking to different locations to gain points from completing challenge activities. We were given maps of the area and had to plan our route to make the best use of our time.
My Gold Level Qualifying Journey was an Amazing Race style event held over five days, across Victoria. Using public transport and hiking, we had to follow clues, plan out our route and complete challenges as we moved from town to town. Our starting point was Southern Cross Station. We visited Ballarat, Geelong and Frankston, finishing up in Warragul.
This journey was a five day hike, racing against 24 other teams. It was a physical and mental challenge. We had to work as a team, with people we had not met before, to navigate and travel around Victoria, solving puzzles and completing challenges. We developed our teamwork skills, used our initiative, improved our self-confidence, and improved our fitness.
There was no set route, so the skill and fun come from trying to find the best or quickest way to go. We had to plan our route as we went, racing against time, completing activities and challenges along the way to get the clues to reveal the next destination.
For my Residential Project I attended Venture24, a Scout camp aimed at Venturers between the ages or 14 and 18. It was held at Lardner Park, near Warragul, and attracted over 1300 participants from all over Australia and New Zealand. This was an opportunity to experience new adventures, develop new skills and make new friends. Attending the Venture strengthened my confidence and leadership skills.
