HRH The Earl of Wessex visits Birmingham Metropolitan College
To celebrate its Diamond Anniversary, the Charity launched the DofE Diamond Challenge – a one-off initiative to allow people of all ages to take on a DofE inspired challenge and earn a limited-edition DofE Diamond Challenge pin.
For their Diamond Challenge, BMet students and staff abseiled down the front of Matthew Boulton College’s impressive eight storey building observed by The Earl of Wessex. The Earl also met with students who are currently doing their Award, and then presented Principal, Andrew Cleaves with their licence to operate the DofE.
Speaking after the event, BMet’s Principal Andrew Cleaves said, “We were absolutely delighted to welcome His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex to the College today. We are fully committed to providing our students with the opportunity to undertake their Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards – at every level – and it was an honour to be presented with our licence by His Royal Highness. This award is just one of the many opportunities that we provide at BMet to ensure that our young people are prepared for the world of work – beyond their academic qualifications.”
Speaking about DofE, Uniformed Public Services student Callum said, “DofE helps you to interact with new people and make new friends. It builds the confidence you have in yourself and the skills you need to work in different places and speak to new people. It also gives you a real sense of achievement. When I was doing my gold expedition I found it tough but at the end I felt really pleased with myself. I want to join the Royal Marines and it will definitely help me to achieve my goal.”
BMet DofE leader, Kevin Guy says, “When we’re recruiting people to the College, I can clearly see that those students who have done DofE at school are more confident and mature than their peers – and importantly they are far more independent in their studies. That’s why it’s so important for students to be able to continue with DofE at college – particularly where they need to develop ‘softer’ skills for their chosen career such as the police force where they’ll be dealing with different people every day.”