On Monday, our principal Lesley Powell and maths teacher Ian Kell swapped school dinners for cucumber sandwiches on a visit to Buckingham Palace.
They joined scores of other schools to celebrate 60 years of Duke of Edinburgh Awards. To honour our participation in the scheme, Mrs Powell and Mr Kell swapped our school badge for a commemorative plaque with Prince Edward. Prince Edward's wife The Countess of Wessex and The Duke of Edinburgh himself, Prince Phillip, were also in attendance, as well as many well known celebrities.
The Shotton Hall delegation were in a group joined by John Culshaw - scriptwriter for the 1980s satire Spitting Image and Dead Ringers and a TV and radio impressionist - as well as Marcia Holmes, Duke of Edinburgh operations manager for Durham.
Mr Kell who heads up the Duke of Edinburgh scheme at Shotton Hall said: "It was a great privilege to be invited to Buckingham Palace and certainly a day to remember. The Duke of Edinburgh scheme is a great opportunity for young people to stretch themselves and try out new and exciting activities. It is a character building programme which teaches the children resilience, resourcefulness and inventiveness and we are very proud to be part of it."
Although there were no sightings of any of the Queen's corgis, everyone still had a wonderful and memorable day and Mrs Powell even bought a new hat for the occasion!