Western Daily Press (Saturday)
School calls in etiquette tutor to train rural pupils
ARURAL school in Herefordshire has brought in an etiquette coach to help students sound more polished and confident in university and job interviews.
Earl Mortimer College and Sixth Form Centre in Leominster hope it will boost their students’ chances as disadvantaged students from rural areas are less likely to get into the top universities and jobs as those from cities.
The school brought in specialist company The English Manner whose founder was once a member of the royal household.
The tutor taught youngsters how to meet and greet formally, which cutlery to use when fine dining and appropriate conversation topics.
They were also given top tips on how to dress, communicate and conduct themselves, including how to leave and enter a room.
Headteacher Alison Banner says the training will help students for life beyond school when it comes to job and university interviews.
She wants students to learn how to sound more polished and confident so they have the necessary skills to succeed later in life.
Disadvantaged students from rural areas are less likely to gain places at the very top universities than those from urban areas, according to a study by the University of Bath published this year.
Mrs Banner said: “The stats don’t lie, students from disadvantaged backgrounds and rural communities are just not getting into the top universities, they are not getting into the top jobs.
“We are a school which is highly ambitious for our students, we don’t want them to have any barriers in fulfilling their potential, to being ambitious and achieving their dreams.
“It may strike people as unfair but without these soft skills students will struggle when they come to job and university interviews so we want to level the playing field for them.
“This is something they never would have experienced before which is great. We want to take them out of their comfort zone. They really enjoyed it.”
The English Manner was founded by etiquette expert Alexandra Messervy, who reportedly helped plan a royal wedding and bought the Queen’s Christmas presents. The sessions were run by etiquette author and English Manner director William Hanson, who grew up in North Somerset.
It’s like this secret language that posh people know and the rest of us are not in on MAX GEORGE, 14
Max George, 14, from Leominster, said: “It was absolutely amazing; it was something that I’d never done before or even thought about. It has really broadened my horizons.
“My confidence has really gone up because I now know what to do in different kinds of situations. Like if I meet the Queen now, I’d know exactly how to act and what to do.
“You don’t realise just how important all this stuff is until you learn it yourself. It’s like this secret language that posh people know and the rest of us are not in on.
“It really helps you to feel like you can belong in any social or business situation. Like I will remember this stuff when I go to a university or job interview because now, I know how to act in different types of situations.”