His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales visited The Prince’s Trust Cheryl’s Trust Centre in Newcastle to meet with young people being supported by The Prince’s Trust and Newcastle United Foundation to develop their confidence and skills for work.

His Royal Highness was joined by Cheryl Tweedy who is a longstanding celebrity ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, as he met young people, Prince’s Trust and Newcastle United Foundation Staff.

One of the young people who met His Royal Highness and Cheryl at the centre was Dan Hannigan, Dan, from Byker, has just completed the Team 12-week personal development programme delivered by Newcastle United Foundation.

The course helps young people to develop their confidence and skills for work. Dan spoke about his experiences in front of an audience including HRH and Cheryl at a celebration event marking the end of the course.

Dan said: "I was initially apprehensive about joining Team because I didn’t enjoy mainstream education and can get anxious around groups of people.

"I was pleasantly surprised at how fast The Prince’s Trust made me feel comfortable and I’ve become much better at teamwork.

"I wouldn’t have believed 12 weeks ago that I’d be confident enough to speak in front of The Prince of Wales and Cheryl, it was an amazing way to end the course.

“I feel more positive about applying for jobs now and I’m hoping to pursue a career in youth work.”

The Prince’s Trust Team programme, delivered by the Foundation, is open to 16 to 25-year-olds who are currently not in employment, education, or training.

The centre where portions of the programme are delivered was officially opened by Cheryl in 2018 after the singer raised £1 million towards it through her own charitable foundation, Cheryl’s Trust.

The centre supports unemployed young people across the North East of England and November’s visit is the first time that His Royal Highness and Cheryl have attended it together.

Lee Smith, Team Leader and Prince’s Trust Coordinator at Newcastle United Foundation, said: "The Team young people have faced a lot of different challenges, and it’s brilliant to see how far their confidence, teamwork and communication skills have come on.

It’s always so rewarding hearing young people speak at the end of the Team programme about how the support of The Prince’s Trust and Newcastle United Foundation have changed their lives, and our guests made it even more special."

To find out more about the Team programme, email lee.smith@nufc.co.uk

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