We do, admittedly, live in a climate of seeking to accredit everything and, if an award of one kind or another does not fit, we invent a new one. So, of course, we have to beware of conferring on young people rewards and awards that, ultimately, carry little meaning beyond the specific circumstances in which they were developed. That is not to say that they have no merit. There is a strong case for some kind of recognition of young people's involvement and effort, but that is very different from, in one way or another, validating their attainment and achievement.
The handshakes at the end of an award ceremony do not stand in some splendid isolation; they are the culmination of a long, often hard road down which young people have travelled. One of the guiding principles of The Duke of Edinburgh's Award is that it is a marathon, not a sprint. And that requires a great deal of hands-on practice: supporting young people in seeing through the various tasks they have chosen, renewing motivation when young people are inclined to give up.
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