aTHE West Somerset Community College's tally of coveted gold Duke of Edinburgh awards has risen by three. PE teacher Vicky Buck and former students Alice Stanbury and Jenny Matravers have all completed the tough challenges to reach the prestigious goal. To achieve gold, participants in the scheme have to have all five sections of the award under their belts before they reach 25. Jenny, who left the college last year to study architecture at Cardiff, put the finishing touches to her award by spending a residential week restoring a steam railway on Bodmin Moor. Alice, meanwhile, continued her love of adventure and the outdoors inspired by her earlier Duke of Edinburgh experiences by spending a gap year at the college as an outdoor education assistant before heading off next year to Plymouth University to read geology. She spent her residential week at the Charterhouse education centre helping to run a caving and climbing course. Vicky had put her Duke of Edinburgh exploits on hold when she took up her post at the college but joined a sixth form group to complete the remaining sections of the award. She coached a hockey sports club for her service and was a crew member on a sailing expedition around the Balearic Islands to fulfil the residential commitment of the award. All three said they found the expedition section the greatest challenge, while training in the Lakes for their qualifying exploration in the Pyrenees proved harder than the final trip in some ways. The steep slopes of Hellvelyn and the harsh English weather made the mountains of Bagnere de Luchon in France seem a lot more bearable, particularly as they were bathed in a scorching 30 degrees. Among the trio's most memorable moments during their four-day, 65 kilometre journey in the Pyrenees - including 3,500 metres of ascent - were walking up to a glacier on the French/Spanish border during a thunderstorm and white water rafting at the end of the challenge. Jenny said: "Some of the best memories I've had are from the expeditions, especially as we had two international cross country cyclists in our group. "Keeping up with them made me learn blister management very quickly." Vicky's description of the Pyrenees was "fantastic" and she has pledged to return to the area. She added: "Joining a group of sixth formers did put me in an odd position as a teacher, though. "I certainly learnt a lot more than perhaps I should have done about sixth form exploits while keeping ourselves jolly on the hot slogs up the mountains!" Alice listed the highlights of her award as bum sliding and scree running down Hellvellyn. All three gold award holders will be attending a national ceremony at St James Palace in London later this year. Jenny is pictured receiving her award from college principal Nick Swann (far left), with from left, Alice Stanbury and Vicky Buck. Also pictured are Duke of Edinburgh unit leaders at the college, Jim Whittaker and Caroline Young. Photo: Steve Guscott.