Top Government Minister - Honours Dover Military School
Lord Astor of Hever, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Defence, made a top level ministerial visit to Dover to celebrate the achievements of the 450 pupils at The Duke of York's Royal Military School, an Academy with Military Traditions, on Friday 6th May.
Senior Conservative peer Lord Astor, who is a Deputy Lieutenant for the county of Kent and a former Life Guards officer, took the salute at a whole School parade and made two major presentations reflecting the unique military traditions of the School.
He presented the prestigious Baroness Thatcher Sword of Honour (an award personally inaugurated by Baroness Thatcher in 2008) to the best Junior Under Officer, Mark Dyer, aged 17. Mark is the School's Drum Major and leads the School's marching band on parade.
Lord Astor also presented the Inter House Drill Shield to Marlborough House, commanded by 18 year old Rebecca Thompson, for being the smartest guard on parade. Marlborough House will have the privilege of forming the "Escort to the Colour" during "Grand Day", a full scale Trooping of the Colour which will take place in July with His Royal Highness, Field Marshal, The Duke of Kent as Guest of Honour.
The Duke of York's Royal Military School is a 100% co-educational boarding school which achieved a "good with outstanding features" judgment during a recent OFSTED inspection and achieved 97.5% pass rate (A-C including Maths and English) at GCSE in 2010; it became an Academy in September 2010 and now provides continuity of education for the children of both serving and non-serving families.
