Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO has visited Hale School and Hale Community & Youth Centre in Farnham. The visit marked 25 years of creating positive change for the Hale and Sandy Hill communities and was a significant occasion for both organisations as it highlighted their ongoing work and the positive impact they have on the community.

Upon arrival, the Duchess was received by Mary Creswell, the Vice Lord Lieutenant and Farnham Town Clerk Iain Lynch. She was then presented to the headteacher of Hale Nursery and Primary Academy before receiving a warm welcome from pupils who attend the nursery and school. The Duchess saw the youngsters busy planting bulbs under the guidance of Iain McCready and the grounds team from Farnham Town Council.

Her Royal Highness then met the Chair of Trustees and the Manager of Hale Community & Youth Centre and spent some time with mothers who attend the Community Centre’s Stay and Play toddler group held in Hale Family Centre.

Norma Corkish, Chair of Trustees of Hale Community & Youth Centre said: “It was a great privilege to welcome Her Royal Highness to meet members of the community and our volunteers. We are immensely proud of the wide range of work that has been undertaken by the centre over the past 25 years. Knowing that the Duchess has an interest in equality for women and is an advocate for young people, it was an honour to introduce her to some of the people who benefit from our services and for her to hear first-hand the impact our services have on the community.”

As a World Craft Town, the Duchess’s visit wouldn’t have been complete without the opportunity to see how craft contributes towards building an inclusive community for all. The Duchess met pupils from Ridgeway School who were making lanterns for Farnham’s first Lantern Festival which will conclude the 2024 October Craft Month. This was followed by an introduction to the Chief Executive of Creative Response and the chance to learn about a special art programme for Ukrainian families who have settled in the area.

Kathryn McManus from Creative Response said: “It was lovely to have the opportunity to show the Duchess some of the artwork created by members of the Creative Response community, and to chat about the support provided at our studios. I was very pleased that Mariya Borosova, one of our lead artists supporting the Ukraine group that meets at Creative Response, and Alina and Nina, who are members of that group, were able to join me for the meeting with the Duchess, to share some of their own work, and to talk about the importance of the group for the community.” 

The Duchess of Edinburgh visited the Senior Group who were enjoying a games morning and received a bouquet of flowers and joined in singing ‘happy birthday’ for one of the attendees. Hale Community and Youth Centre has a purpose to provide a safe, welcoming and inspiring environment where the whole community is encouraged and enabled to thrive. One of the ways it fulfils this purpose is by running a community fridge and cupboard and a drop-in lunch prepared by volunteers. The Duchess met some of the volunteers who help those most in need as well as helping to minimise food waste.

With younger people being very much the focus of Her Royal Highness’s visit, the Mayor of Farnham, the Chair of 40 Degreez Youth Centre and other community representatives who are involved in working with Farnham’s young people enjoyed the opportunity to share how they are supporting Farnham’s young people.

After hearing more about what it is like to be a young person in Farnham, the Duchess met volunteers from the Farnham Support Fund which was initially set up to support people facing financial difficulties during COVID but which now helps those facing financial hardship and fuel poverty caused by the cost of living crisis.

The visit concluded with the Duchess being invited to unveil a commemorative plaque which can be seen in Hale Community & Youth Centre.

Speaking after the unveiling, the Mayor of Farnham, Councillor Brodie Mauluka said: “Today was a special day for our community as we shared the work of so many organisations working together to tackle hardship and isolation and improve well-being and inclusiveness. Her Royal Highness showed great interest in learning about how we are creating better opportunities for our young citizens.

“The day was very memorable, and I would like to thank all our volunteers for the work they do to make Farnham a better place for all.”

As she departed, the Duchess received a fond farewell from Hale Primary School pupils who waved her off.