His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant of Greater Manchester visits Bridge College

Bridge College, the Together Trust's specialist further education college in Openshaw, Manchester, welcomed His Majesty’s Lord-Lieutenant Diane Hawkins in October.  

The visit was an opportunity for the Lord-Lieutenant to tour the purpose-built award-winning College and to meet students and staff. The Lord-Lieutenant was hosted by Together Trust’s chair of trustees, Giles Gaddum and the Acting Principal, Jeremy Swinn.

On the tour, the Lord-Lieutenant saw the full range of facilities available to the students, including hydrotherapy, the print enterprise and horticulture areas. She learnt about the many learning pathways open to students, including hospitality and catering, art, sports, independent living and music. The challenges nationally for the further education specialist sector were discussed. Such as the demand for student places at the college and transport for students. These issues were of great interest to the Lord-Lieutenant.

She spent some time in the college's café where students gain hands-on, real-life work experience in the catering industry. Students served tea, coffee and pastries to demonstrate how much they’ve learnt already this academic year.

The Lord Lieutenant said,

“I was privileged to visit Bridge College and meet their exceptional students and the dedicated staff. It was inspirational to hear about the development of the curriculum, the attention to detail and the sheer enthusiasm of everyone so keen to make a difference to and empower their students. The professionalism of Elliot and his colleagues when taking our orders for, and serving, refreshments was a joy to experience.”

While visiting the Print Enterprise, where students design and print merchandise to sell, the Lord-Lieutenant spoke to Hussein about his work while he presented her with some tote bags and a mug designed and printed by the students.

Hussein said,

“I really like printing, especially this year!”

Jeremy Swinn, the Principal, said,

“It was a fantastic experience for the college and students to host a visit for the Lord-Lieutenant Diane Hawkins. Student success stories were shared and some of the current challenges associated with the sector were discussed in detail.”