The Duke of Cambridge is the patron of SkillsForce; today, he launched the SkillsForce Prince William Award during a visit to Llanfoist Fawr Primary School in Abergavenny. According to Headteacher, Jon Murphy, the children could hardly contain their excitement at meeting the Prince.
Through teamwork exercises, the national award seeks to instill confidence, character, and resilience in children between the ages of six and 14. Today, the Prince worked with around 80 pupils from Llanfoist Fawr Primary, Caldicot School, Monmouthshire and Bishopstone Primary School in Swindon, Wiltshire.
Constructing the tents today. Photo: KensingtonRoyal/Twitter
Among the teamwork exercises, they built a free-standing tower of marshmallows and straws. They pretended a ball was a radioactive cell and carried it to safety. They also constructed a tent while wearing blindfolds.
These various exercises are taken from the skills from ex-service personnel and are adapted for the children. This national launch follows a yearlong pilot programme that took place at thirty-seven schools throughout the UK.
“The Duke unveils three Prince William Commemorative Awards to three schools who have already taken part in the pilot scheme.” Photo: KensingtonRoyal/Twitter
After the day’s events, the Duke gave a speech, which you can read below:
Ben, thank you. I think you’ve said it all – about what incredible work SkillForce does, why character education for young people matters and what this award is aiming to achieve. I hope you can all see from Ben’s overview why, as Royal Patron, I am so passionate about SkillForce and so proud to be here today to launch this awards programme that bears my name.
I believe that an individual’s academic success, wellbeing and mental health depends not only on traditional qualifications but on nurturing non-academic attributes like self-confidence, discipline and determination. It is not enough that someone is good at English and Maths if they cannot withstand the pressures that life throws up.
The ability for a child to develop character, courage and resilience to overcome setbacks is something about which I care deeply. Over the years I have seen, time and again, how the development of personal skills puts a young person in better stead for education, future employment and for life.
The Prince William Award aims to do just this – to develop children’s personal skills and equip children with resilience. It is why I am so pleased than this idea – many years in development – is finally seeing fruition. The Prince William Award dares six to fourteen-year-olds to be their best selves – to gain habits at an early stage of their life that will equip them for the rest of their childhood and adult lives.
The scheme is the first of its kind to target younger children from the age of six. It includes both practical and reflective learning – combining outdoor activities, like the command tasks I took part in today, with classroom based review; and crucially, it is delivered using the knowledge, skills and expertise of some of the most positive role models in our society – former service personnel, who exemplify the virtues of courage and determination.
As Ben explained, The Prince William Award has been developed in consultation with academics and education experts and has been tried and tested in 37 pilot schools, where teachers have noted significant improvements in pupils’ confidence, communication and their ability to work with others. The scheme will move beyond the pilot stage to launch across the country this September.
I want to take this opportunity to thank Standard Life and the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues for their generous support of the award and thank all of you here today for helping us to launch this “national first”.
Finally, thank you to the Pioneers at Bishopstone Church of England Primary School; to the Explorers at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School and to the Trailblazers at Caldicot. You are some of the very first young people in the country to take part in the Prince William Award. Many congratulations.
And in honour of this, I am delighted to present a commemorative trophy to each school for attending today.
