14.05.07
Royal visit to Duchy College

Staff and students at the Duchy College, were delighted to welcome Their Royal Highnesses, The Duke and The Duchess of Cornwall to Stoke Climsland on Friday.

The original Duchy of Cornwall Home Farm had been visited by the Royal Family many times through the years, and the Duchy College was officially opened by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1986. The Prince has retained a personal interest in the 'college of the countryside' ever since it was converted into a centre of learning. On Friday he helped celebrate the latest phase in its development, the establishment of a new Agri-food Innovation Centre, built to boost the burgeoning regional food sector by offering research, advice and training at all levels.

As part of the visit, Prince Charles took part in a food forum in the Centre. Fifty representatives from the food industry, the College and Rural Business School, funders and the local community attended, seventeen of whom sat around the meeting table with the Prince and discussed the role of the Centre in the future of the local food industry.

Matters discussed at the forum included the ways in which the Centre assists both large and small businesses, in terms of marketing as well as technical aspects of production and product development. Businesses are also bringing their skills to the College, which uses course verifiers from industry and encourages those already in business to work with students.

Staff explained that the Centre has been designed as a 'hub', with areas where students can meet farmers and food producers, and different businesses can build up understanding and trust, share ideas, give advice and perhaps market products co-operatively. This could be particularly useful for smaller companies keen to expand to wider markets outside the region.

His Royal Highness took an active part in the discussion, which also touched upon the value of local skills and traditions in food production and the growing interest in local sourcing by the public sector.

Meanwhile, the Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to the College's Equestrian Centre, accompanied by Sharon Dudden, Chair of the Duchy College Council, and Nicky du Plessis, Head of the Equine Department. The Duchess was shown horse bandaging, heart rate monitoring and tacking up for cross country, and was treated to a ridden quadrille to music in the indoor school. Sharon Dudden said: "It was a real pleasure to show her round. She was genuinely interested and enjoyed watching the quadrille." Nicky du Plessis said of the quadrille: "She was very impressed. The ten riders, from the Advanced National Certificate in the Management of Horses course, worked really hard and rode a mix of bay and grey horses."

The Duchess also watched students from the BTEC National Diploma in Sport leading parachute games with children from Stoke Climsland Primary school for their Leadership Award. Ryan Brown, age 9, said: "She was very nice and I'm having lots of fun."

Following the food forum, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion. The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall signed the visitors' book before being given a warm send-off by staff and students from Duchy College and Stoke Climsland Primary school.

After the event, Andrew Counsell, principal of Duchy College said: "The food forum was a really positive experience for everyone there and really exciting. We had people from funding organisations, industry and education around the table together, and the most positive thing for me was the clear message from everyone, including His Royal Highness, that what we are doing is right and there is a huge prize to gain for the Cornish economy. We can be a major catalyst, bringing everyone together, and hopefully that is what we were doing today."

John Latham, Principal of Cornwall College, said: "Duchy College's new Agri-food Centre will offer a range of facilities including training for learners new to the sector and those already involved in agri-food, facilities for small businesses looking to develop products and marketing, Foundation Degrees and state-of-the art research facilities. With more than 3,500 food and drink related businesses in the South West, this sector has been identified in the South West Regional and Economic Strategy as being a priority area for the region's future economy. This Centre will allow our students to get real, industry level experience, giving them the skills and knowledge valuable to employers."

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership, said: "Quality local produce is important to our wellbeing, our environment and to our identity. Objective One seeks to add value through investing in facilities and the development of knowledge applications in food processing. This centre will provide an invaluable and accessible service to the many small businesses in Cornwall who serve local and regional markets."

The ambitious Food Centre building project was funded by Defra, the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Cornwall College, Objective One, the European Regional Development Fund, South West Regional Development Agency and the Combined Universities in Cornwall. All those involved were honoured that the first meeting within its walls was attended by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cornwall.

Before leaving the Agri-food Innovation Centre and the College with the Duchess of Cornwall, His Royal Highness wished everyone the best of luck and was looking forward to coming back in the future.

For further information please contact the Ruth Sparkes, PR & Communications Manager, on 01726 226463/07760 490980 or email ruth.sparkes@cornwall.ac.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) project, both Phase 1 and Phase 2, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF). Duchy College Cornwall is a partner of the CUC.

Editor's notes:

The Duchy College was established in 1984 on the Duchy of Cornwall Home Farm at Stoke Climsland, becoming the first new agricultural college in England for over 30 years.

Duchy College is the land based arm of Cornwall College. Cornwall College has eight sites across Cornwall and offers the widest range of high quality academic and vocational training.

Cornwall College is the only College in the South West to hold four 'Centre of Vocational Excellence Awards'.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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