A PONTELAND High School student visited Buckingham Palace twice in a week after winning two top awards.

Rachel Kirtley, a year 13 student and member of the 1st Ponteland Girls Brigade, was invited to act as a steward at one of the Queen’s Royal Garden Partys earlier this month.

This was in recognition of achieving her Queen’s award, the highest award in the Girls’ Brigade.

Her Queen’s award came after a visit to Kosovo, where she supported war widows and their families.

Rachel represented the Girls’ Brigade (England and Wales) with a small number of other Girls’ and Boys’ Brigade members. Her role was to assist the special guests, guiding them from the Grand Entrance to the palace steps onto the lawn.

She also spoke to the Queen about her recent achievements, having attended the Palace for her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award just the previous week.