West Lothian youth club to deliver 'Junior Duke' awards scheme for kids

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A community venture in Livingston has become the hub to deliver 'Junior Duke' awards to its youngest members. The Vennie in Knightsridge will deliver the scheme, originally created by a Glasgow primary school teacher, which offers life skills awards that help children build confidence, resilience and independence.

The Vennie will be working with the Duke of Edinburgh scheme with senior pupils from the nearby Ogilvie School. While similar to the Duke of Edinburgh Award the Junior Duke it is not associated with that scheme but it offers a pathway into it for children as they reach their teens.

The Junior Duke programme runs in many schools across the country and in West Lothian is being managed by the Vennie youth club which has just appointed a new youth coordinator Jen McCusker.

According to the Junior Duke website: "The Junior Duke Award has been designed to be inclusive. Every student, whatever their background, will benefit from the confidence and competence that the challenges develop." The Vennie which also runs a community food outlet as well as a youth club held an open day to mark its reopening after new kitchen facilities were built in the clubrooms in Knightsridge.