Royal visit to Westminster Kingsway College marks centenary celebrations
09 March 2010
HRH The Prince of Wales today (Tuesday 9 March) launched the centenary year celebrations at Westminster Kingsway College's School of Hospitality.
As well as meeting students from the School of Hospitality, The Prince of Wales personally thanked the College for its commitment to helping disadvantaged young people through The Prince's Trust – the leading youth charity set up by The Prince himself in 1976.
As Founder and President of The Prince's Trust, The Prince of Wales met the eight young men and five young women involved in the youth charity's Team programme, currently being run from the College's King's Cross Centre. By delivering this 12-week personal development programme, Westminster Kingsway College is currently helping thirteen unemployed young people to build the skills, confidence and motivation to find work.
The Prince's visit also marks an exciting year for Westminster Kingsway College and The Prince's Trust. 2010 will see the College, which is celebrating the centenary of its School of Hospitality, deliver a new 'Get Into Cooking' course to help young people forge careers in the catering industry. The intensive short course enables participants aged 16-25 to gain a nationally recognised qualification in professional cookery in addition to hands-on experience in a working kitchen.
The Prince's visit to WKC included a tour of the specialist teaching kitchens. He also met catering and hospitality students who presented him with a special baked tribute of bread in the shape of his Royal feathers.
The Prince was welcomed by the College Principal, Andy Wilson; Chair of Governors, David Kogan; and the Chief Executive of The Prince's Trust, Martina Milburn.
The Prince of Wales also unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the centenary celebrations in front of a specially invited audience from the hospitality industry.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales said: "It is such a joy to have the chance to visit Westminster Kingsway College. I am so impressed by the Chef Lecturers and staff who work hard to ensure students have the best chance to succeed in their career when they leave the College. I appreciate the firm relationship that my Trust has with Westminster Kingsway College equipping students with the qualifications they need. I'm enormously grateful to both of them and proud that they work so hard to give many students the second chance they need.
"I just wanted to use this opportunity not only to congratulate the College on its centenary and its one hundred years of real excellence in hospitality, but also to say how proud I am to be patron of the Academy of Culinary Arts and to meet people in this wonderful field."
Andy Wilson, Principal at Westminster Kingsway College, said: "We are honoured to welcome The Prince of Wales to Westminster Kingsway College to launch our centenary year. He will see at first hand the transformational role FE colleges play in the lives of so many young people. The College is pleased to be working with The Prince's Trust, to develop new programmes to provide new opportunities for disadvantaged young people in London."
Rosemary Watt-Wyness, Regional Director for The Princes Trust in London and the South East, added: "With support from Westminster Kingsway College, The Prince's Trust is extending its reach and services to change more young lives here in the capital. This is a shining example of the power of partnership between the charity sector and further education colleges as we work together to give young people a second chance."
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