It was a Royal affair as Harrow College welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to their Harrow on the Hill campus on Saturday 10 October. The College was host to the Royal visitors who joined the mental health charity Mind to celebrate World Mental Health Day.
Mind Chief Executive Paul Farmer first greeted the Royal guests before leading them through the college grounds and into the College's new Enterprise Centre where various activities were taking place. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were introduced to groups of young people who have experienced mental health problems and now use their personal experiences to create materials and deliver training for schools via a project called MindKit.
A reception then followed which gave everybody the opportunity to celebrate World Mental Health Day and recognise its achievements and ambitions for the future. The Duke and Duchess mingled with young volunteers from Mind and young champions from Time to Change. They also spent time with students from Harrow College's own welfare programme which, in partnership with Mind in Harrow, offers young people with mental health problems the support they need to ensure they can progress through their College career.
Harrow College Health Care and Social Care students had the opportunity to meet the Duke and Duchess. This included excited Level 2 Childcare students Kenna Dolby and Nerice Campbell-Forde who were delighted to get the opportunity to present their mental health app idea. Kenna said "The Duke and Duchess were really impressed with the app idea that we had developed and really hoped that the idea would one day become a reality". Nerice also commented "We both feel really proud today".
The day concluded with a number of closing speeches. Firstly Mind Chief Executive Mr Paul Farmer spoke about the important role that Mind and Time to Change play and why World Mental Health Day is such a valued celebration. He then introduced Time to Change young champion Vithuja Balasingam who spoke bravely about her experiences of mental health problems, the challenges she faced and how she is now working to raise awareness and improve understanding of mental health. She said "as someone diagnosed with depression, being open about mental illness has eased the recovery process. It's ok to talk without fear or being ashamed."
Finally Harrow College Principal and Chief Executive Pat Carvalho spoke of her delight of Harrow College hosting such a prestigious event. She commented "The College is very proud to support the work of Mind In Harrow and to ensure our students have the right support and guidance to help them to develop and reach their full potential. Today has truly raised awareness of the positive approaches young people can adopt to better understand and manage their own mental health."
The last honour of the day went to Harrow College student Alma-Ella Bida. Just before the Duke and Duchess departed, Alma presented the Duchess with a bouquet of flowers and thanked them for their involvement in the event and their visit to Harrow College.
See the day in pictures below:
