Forces Children Scotland 3 hours ago
This week, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, paid a visit to Firrhill High School, a school in Edinburgh with a significant Armed Forces population. He came to meet young people from Armed Forces families and other pupils undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards.
At this visit, young people had the opportunity to speak about the projects they are most passionate about. As an organisation honoured to have His Majesty King Charles III as our Royal Patron, welcoming a member of the Royal Family to meet the young people at the heart of our work felt especially fitting.
Prince Edward was piped into the school by a Firrhill pupil and welcomed by children from the adjacent Colinton Primary School, before sitting down for a discussion with a group of pupils.
The Duke was shown a clip of documentary produced by Firrhill about Forces life. He also got a sneak preview at an upcoming project from Forces Children Scotland, seeing the first edits of an animation that young people are co-producing with a professional animator. Through this project, they are using their own artwork and creativity to tell their stories.
At the visit, they explained the process of developing the cast of characters and recording voiceovers. Hearing them speak about this exciting new project to a member of the Royal family was a proud moment for us! And watch this space, because this animation is almost ready to launch.
Prince Edward also met Kemu Kedrayate, a young artist who recently completed a series of digital illustrations showing the many paths to civilian life for The Ruby Boots Project. The two spoke about Kemu’s unique dinosaur designs, which he adapted into a crest for Firrhill High School, highlighting their support for Forces pupils like him.
The students also introduced Prince Edward to the flagship Forces Children’s Rights Charter and gave him a pin to declare himself a Proud Rights Defender (here’s how you can become one too!). The visit closed with the Duke of Edinburgh Awards group who are currently working towards their awards.
It was an afternoon worth celebrating, and we’re so proud of every young person who took part.
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