The Prince of Wales told a group of black students they were “going places” after learning about the “fantastic” bursary supporting their development.
William’s visit, held during Black History Month, saw him meet young people enrolled on the Amos Bursary, a five-year mentoring and support programme co-founded by Labour peer Baroness Amos and her sister Colleen Amos.
Meeting supporters and alumni
He chatted to supporters of the initiative including former T4 presenter Baroness Sarpong, now a TV executive and peer, at the north London offices of Urban MBA, a bursary partner that supports marginalised youth.
Baroness Sarpong told William: “What’s brilliant about the bursary is that it actually delivers results and when you look at success rates, it’s extraordinary – one of the best in terms of delivery.”
After watching a team-building exercise where pairs of students tried to keep a balloon afloat he asked them what were the “skill sets” they needed to succeed.
William praises resilience
William said: “What’s interesting is tenacity and resilience scores quite highly among you all, which just shows how many challenges and barriers you’ve all had to face to get where you are now.
“You can see by the way you talk and interact and engage, you guys, you’re going places and it’s really good.
“I’m really pleased to see you’re in the right environment here to nurture that.”
William met alumni of the bursary, founded in 2009 when seven people were supported that year, but the project has grown to provide mentoring, university financial support, and aid graduate employment for 50 students from London and the West Midlands each year.
Impact on communities
Sitting around the table with the prince were an architect, entrepreneurs, and a New York-based investment banker and he told them “having the Amos Bursary in every part of society would be fantastic”.
Xavier Hamilton, 34, from Dagenham was among the first cohort of seven students and initially dropped out after failing his A levels but told William Colleen Amos phoned him one night to tell him they would not give up on him and he now runs his own media company.
Before leaving William posed for a group photo and was shown 3D printers used by Urban MBA to teach design skills to young people and was given a printed vase and card holder.
Baroness Amos said: “These are young people who are going to transform their communities, they have ambition, we want to help them realise that ambition but it’s not just about themselves.
“It’s about self achievement and it’s about raising the aspirations of the community as a whole.”
