51Âþ»­

LEARNING: The Montrose pupils on campus

Excited schoolchildren are looking forward to meeting Prince Edward when he officially opens 51Âþ»­’s new Square Mile office on Friday.

The youngsters, from Montrose Primary School in Aylestone, Leicester, are all helped by volunteers from the Square Mile, 51Âþ»­’s award-winning project to share the skills and expertise of students and staff with the wider community.

They will be presented to The Prince during his visit to 51Âþ»­ on Friday. He will tour the new Mile2 headquarters at The Chantry and see for himself the life-changing impact which the university’s voluntary work has had on families and residents.

Around 30 Montrose pupils will tell the Prince all about their work with 51Âþ»­ through the Mile2 homework club, which sees volunteers go into the school to help run a homework club and mentor pupils in key subjects. The Earl of Wessex will see a lesson being taught in which pupils are supported by student mentors.

Andy Owens, head teacher of Montrose Primary, said: “All the children are incredibly excited to be meeting the Prince. The children have benefitted enormously from their involvement with the Square Mile project.”

“It’s a project which has been going on for several months,” explained Square Mile manager Mark Charlton. “Our students go in to help the children with their learning, whether it is giving extra support in their reading and writing or overcoming language barriers to help them engage more effectively in the classroom.

“This is a real opportunity for our students to make a difference to the lives of the pupils and the children have appreciated the help and support.”

During his visit to The Chantry, His Royal Highness will also watch a video about Mile2’s work. The film includes footage of them visiting London’s Bank of England. Some 46 youngsters went to London after taking part in Mile2’s PlayDough project, which saw schoolchildren across Leicester learn about the stock market, finance and investment.

Montrose pupils have also enjoyed regular trips to campus through 51Âþ»­’s Inspire Days, which try to raise aspirations of children at city primary schools and encourage them to consider applying university later in life.

The Prince will go on to Fosse Neighbourhood Centre in Mantle Road, Leicester, to see more examples of Mile2’s community work. He will meet Rik and Kas Basra, who worked with 51Âþ»­ to hold a stem cell donor recruitment drive on campus and the team from Movin2Gether who run university-accredited free dance classes in the community, as well as visiting the community IT suite funded by Mile2.

The Earl of Wessex’s visit to 51Âþ»­ will begin with a tour of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Leisure Centre. 51Âþ»­ has been granted special permission by Buckingham Palace to name the centre after Her Majesty, who started her Diamond Jubilee national tour here in March 2012.