Less than three years ago, Arran Armstrong was a quiet, shy student at Darfield High School who was most comfortable in the confines of the family home and preferred others to do the talking.

Last month, that same young man from Kirwee took to the stage at Government House to address a roomful of high-ranking officials after receiving his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Medal.

Armstrong says the Duke of Edinburgh Gold Medal was the culmination for two years of pushing himself to new limits and exploring the world around him.

“It all started in my last year at school, when I realised I was spending most of my spare time in my room watching videos, so I decided one day that I was going to stop being so timid and start trying new things and take on leadership opportunities,”  says Armstrong.

The youngster says he was inspired by fitness YouTubers to get his body moving and around that same time, Darfield High School was advertising for students to enrol for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards programme.

The programme encourages youngsters to explore the outdoors, gain confidence, learn new skills, give back to the community, and push their boundaries by trying new experiences.

“Two teachers at Darfield High were keen to get students involved, so I signed up to test myself a bit more and get active.”

Armstrong says that the Duke of Edinburgh experience opened his eyes to new opportunities and initially he decided to do an extra year at Darfield High School to try different subjects and test his leadership skills on the Board of Trustees.

“A lot of my friends and family questioned why I voluntarily would do another year at high school after graduating,” says Armstrong, who then unexpectedly did a U-turn after spending the summer in the outdoors.

“I took part in Outward Bound as part of my Duke of Ed and completed the Abel Tasman trail and realised I wanted to see the real world and have more adventures instead of staying in my bubble in Darfield.”

The youngster resigned from the school board, packed his bags and went in search of more adventures in Europe.

“I was lucky that I had saved a bit of money in an old savings account and from a job at the brick factory in Darfield, so I just took off.”

He initially travelled around Britain, but decided to push himself by exploring other cultures with foreign languages.

“It was pretty daunting, but I was adamant that I wanted to push myself by going to places where I could not speak the language.

“And in the process, I got lots of exercise carrying my pack around Europe day after day and staying in places on my own for weeks at a time, which both contributed to the criteria for the Gold Medal.”

Armstrong says all his adventures have changed him forever and the ‘old’ Arran would never been confident enough to deliver a speech in front of Dr Richard Davies, the spouse of Governor General Dame Cindy Kiro, the executives of the Hillary Trust and Duke of Edinburgh Trust, as well as other recipients and their families.

“The ceremony was great. It was cool to be in Government House and it was great they invited us there. But it wasn’t as fancy as I had thought.”

Armstrong’s travels have now him set up on his next journey at the University of Canterbury where he studies Geography, as well as French, Russian and Spanish languages.

He also continues his adventures in the outdoors and is in training to become a qualified scouting leader.

The born-and-bred Kirwee product says many teenagers will find themselves in their own bubble and encourages others to get out and experience life, whether it is through the Duke of Edinburgh programme or other opportunities.

“By doing so many things and meeting so many new people, I have gained heaps of confidence, I am more social and a lot more adventurous. So just give it go and try new things. ”

Last modified: 24 Jul 2025 9:53am