Duchy College welcomed the Duke of Cornwall this Thursday, October 17, for a whistlestop tour of their Stoke Climsland campus.
Prince William arrived at the college in perfect sunshine and spent 45 minutes visiting different areas of the facility, chatting to students about their studies.
College CEO Rob Bosworth hosted the Duke during his trip accompanied by VIPs including Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall Sir Edward Bolitho and his youth cadet, members of The Cornwall College and Cllr Sarah Ross from Stoke Climsland Parish council.
The visit which had to be rescheduled when Princess Catherine fell ill, was heralded a success by the Chief Exec, who said: “Today, everything fell into place. What an absolutely amazing event for the place. I hope we’ve done the district proud; I hope we’ve done Stoke Climsland proud. I hope we’ve done Cornwall proud.
Prince William paid his first ever visit to Duchy College as the new Duke of Cornwall, spending 45 minutes chatting with staff and students on the Stoke Climsland campus.
“The Prince met entry-level students working in our kitchen, Sam’s, all the way through to our degree-level students in agriculture and horticulture; he literally met the whole range of students and I have to say he was absolutely amazing.
“It was his first time here and I said to him as he got in his car, have you enjoyed it and he said it’s been absolutely fantastic.”
Students from the Military and Protective Services academy at Duchy were the first to greet the Prince. 100 students are enrolled on the course which trains students for careers in the blue light services and the armed forces.
A forensic crime scene with a burgled car was set up for the Prince to investigate, but before dusting that for prints he was invited to try his hand at lifting a finger print off a table using special dusting powder. The card with the lifted fingerprint was presented to the Prince as a momento.
Jack Newton, the student incident commander for the crime scene said the Prince seemed really interested. “It definitely hit me that it was a Prince that I was talking to; it was great. It was lovely to meet him. Seeing him interact with the activities showcases what we do here is important.
“The smile he had on his face meant a lot of to me today and that he was really interested in what we were getting up to. That’s definitely the highlight.”
After exploring the world of forensics, the Prince moved on to chat with Darren Watson, supervisor of Sam’s, a student-run kitchen and cafe on campus. “It’s something I will remember forever,” he said. “It was absolutely amazing that he’s come to our department to see our little cafe.
“He was so easy to talk to, to be honest with you it was like talking to a friend. He was so easy going, relaxed and in that moment, you felt really at ease.”
During their chat Darren revealed that he’d researched William’s favourite cake, a refrigerator biscuit cake, which was one of the tiers of his wedding cake, Darren adds. They found the recipe in the Royal collection, and made it for him presenting him with a large slice to take away.
Prince William moved on to sit with students who are part of the Future Farm programme; the latest addition to the range of agriculture specialisms at Duchy. The programme is the first of its kind for England, aiming to improve efficiency, welfare and technological advancement in dairy farming, looking after 200 cows on site.
As well as being a hub for agricultural studies, the college also provides 86 courses across apprenticeships, degree programs and adult courses to help people foster a successful career.
As the Prince finished his tour of the college greeting assembled students clambering to take selfies with his Royal Highness, it was encounters of the furry kind with staff dogs Stanley, a cocker spaniel, and a very excited labrador-retriever called River who stole the show.
The staff dogs come to the campus each day and form part of the curriculum explains Kaz Addy, curriculum manager for animal science and apprenticeships. She said: “It’s really important that the students learn to train the dogs, learn about their welfare, about dog-walking, handling them and doing health checks and bandaging and things like that.”
She added: “It was really exciting to meet Prince William and show him how wonderful our campus is, and for me, the way in which he engaged with the students was just amazing and really lovely for them.”
First-year equine student Ellie Baiss was chosen to present the Prince with a bouquet at the end of his trip, and said: “I was actually really nervous but he was actually nice! He asked me what course I do and if it’s a good college and I said it was really good!”
The Prince was then whisked away in his black Land Rover to the sound of cheering and clapping from the crowd.