Earl of Wessex visits Clifton College

  • 6 years ago
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HRH the Earl of Wessex has visited Clifton College as part of a campaign to support the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) Charity.

During his visit he met with head teachers and DofE managers based in Bristol, as well as students currently participating in the Gold programme. Students from the college and the University of Bristol then joined him in a game of “real tennis” on the same court he opened 20 years ago.

Bastien Van Der Zwalmen, a sixth former at Clifton College, said: “[The game] was nerve-wracking at the start but then we got into it. He was really nice and really approachable. The game went pretty well, it was quite close, I didn’t expect it to be that close.”

The game was part of the Earl of Wessex’s attempt to play on every “real tennis” court in the world in a bid to raise money for the life-changing Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Charity. He also aimed to show that DofE does not end after a person has obtained an award, with many individuals continuing to learn new skills and volunteer their services.

Clifton College has run DofE for decades and places a high value on the opportunities it gives pupils. The pupils have opportunities to complete the volunteering part of their programme, with 871 hours of service undertaken by Clifton College participants last academic year. The extensive expedition programme includes walking trips in the Brecon Beacons, Dartmoor, the Mendip Hills, Morocco, New Forest and Snowdonia.

Dr Tim Greene, head of college, said: “The DofE is hugely important to Clifton College so it was a pleasure to welcome HRH The Earl of Wessex, and fellow schools engaged in the programme, to the College to highlight and celebrate the great benefits participation in the programme bring young people. We hope that HRH’s visit to Bristol will inspire more young people across the city to become involved with the DofE.”

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