Wills takes blindfold challenge to launch new award
PRINCE William laughed and joked with children as he donned a blindfold and helped them put up a tent.
The Duke of Cambridge joined a team of six pupils at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School in Abergavenny yesterday, including four who were also taking part in the challenge without being able to see.
The Duke was at the school to launch the education charity SkillForce Prince William Award (PWA), which encourages children to develop good character, confidence and resilience and takes part in three age-related stages.
“There is a lot of feeling going on here and not a lot of seeing,” said William, who at one stage thought he was the only one left in the dark.
“Am I the only one blindfolded now?” he asked, about halfway through the 10-minute challenge.
The challenge involved students from Caldicot School in Monmouthshire, who are taking part in the Trailblazer Award, which helps inspire children aged 12 to 14 with confidence as leaders.
The Duke’s team finished ahead of two others and once their work was revealed he said to the children: “Look at that. Good job, guys. Amazing.”
When asked if William had done a good job, Keaton, 12, one of the blindfolded children, said: “He was really good to be honest. It was really exciting. He shook my hand.”
Keaton added that the PWA had helped him. “It is helping me work on my feelings and self-control, “he added.
William was greeted outside the school by the excited cheers of children, many of them dressed in traditional Welsh outfits or rugby tops, while one girl sported a daffodil head-dress and others waved their Welsh flags.
During the visit, three groups from different schools demonstrated different levels of the award programme.
Children from the host school then demonstrated the skills needed for the Explorer Award, for children aged eight to 11, by taking part in a “hover ball” teamwork challenge, using ropes to move a ball across the playground without it dropping.
The Duke smiled as he took up one of the ropes and helped the children balance the ball and drop it into a bucket.
Abigail Squirrell, 10, said: “When we were playing the game it felt like he was not there because he was casual with us. It felt like he was not a prince. I could see he was getting really involved. He was really enjoying the games.”
Giving a speech to mark the award launch, which has been piloted in 37 schools around the country, William addressed the crowd first in Welsh, saying: “Bore da, dydd gwyl Dewi hapus (Good morning. Happy St David’s day).”
The Duke said he was passionate about SkillForce and added: “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.”
Chief executive of SkillForce Ben Slade said William asked for instruction in his Welsh pronunciation before making the speech and had rehearsed what he was going to say a couple of times.
He said of the prince: “He is absolutely fantastic. He is genuinely interested in the people themselves, what they are gaining from the awards and what we can do to improve it.”
SkillForce works with schools to transform lives using the skills and experience of ex-services veterans.
It supports children and young people in more than 200 primary and secondary schools across England, Scotland and Wales, preparing them for their next steps in education, work and life, and William became patron in 2009.
Jon Murphy, headteacher at Llanfoist Fawr Primary School, said the school had seen huge benefits from taking part in the pilot.
He said William’s first public event was on St David’s Day in 1991 when he visited Cardiff with his parents.
He said: “You have visited our small village of Llanfoist. We will always remember that and St David’s Day will have a new significance for us.”