Public Life
Dench was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1970 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1988. She was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in 2005. In June 2011, she became a fellow of the British Film Institute (BFI). Dench is a patron of the Leaveners, Friends School Saffron Walden and the Archway Theatre, Horley, Surrey. She became president of Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London in 2006, taking over from Sir John Mills, and is also president of the Questors Theatre, Ealing. In May 2006, she became an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was also patron of Ovingdean Hall School, a special day and boarding school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Brighton, which closed in 2010, and Vice President of The Little Foundation. Dench is an Honorary Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. In 1996, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate (D.Univ) from Surrey University and in 2000–2001 she received an Honorary DLitt from Durham University. In July 2000, she was awarded a Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) by Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, where she actively supported their Drama School at the Gateway Theatre on Elm Row. On 24 June 2008, she was honoured by the University of St Andrews, receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) at the university's graduation ceremony.
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