Royal visit to Westminster Kingsway College marks centenary celebrations

HRH The Prince of Wales has 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 13 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.

His 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 of Wales also unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the centenary celebrations in front of a specially invited audience from the hospitality industry.

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. WKC is pleased to be working with The Prince's Trust, to develop new programmes to provide new opportunities for disadvantaged young people in London."

Words: Clare Riley

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