HRH The Countess of Wessex was welcomed to Alfreton in Derbyshire today, as a crowd of over one thousand people gathered to greet her on her official visit to open David Nieper Academy and take a tour of the David Nieper fashion house.

The Countess was welcomed to the Academy by Headteacher, Dr Kathryn Hobbs, Chair of Trustees, Christopher Nieper, employer partners, teaching staff and students.

The Academy, formerly known as Alfreton Grange and Mortimer Wilson has been at the heart of the Alfreton community since the 1930s and recently started a new chapter in its history, when David Nieper Education Trust took over the governance of the school in September 2016.  Since then, the school has moved into a brand new building and doubled student numbers.

Dr Kathryn Hobbs, Headteacher David Nieper Academy commented:

“What an exciting time our students have had today!  We would like to thank The Countess on behalf of everyone at the school for taking the time to visit and officially open our Academy.

This visit marks a real milestone in the history of our school, which has been on an incredible journey striving to become a school of which the whole community can be proud.

   

The visit by The Countess has made this an occasion that all of our students will remember and cherish for years to come.”

The Countess made a second stop in Alfreton at the David Nieper fashion house, where she was given a tour of the sewing rooms and presented with a gift by the company.

The Countess is Patron of the London College of Fashion and also works to support the Campaign for Wool with the Prince of Wales; The Countess also supports many prominent children’s charities including NSPCC and the Wessex Youth Trust established with her husband the Earl of Wessex in 1999

Christopher Nieper, Managing Director of David Nieper Ltd and Chair of Trustees at the David Nieper Academy commented:

“It has been a great privilege to receive The Countess at both our Academy and the fashion house today. The David Nieper Education Trust was established to forge closer links between business and education, giving children a privileged connection with local employers and a career enriched curriculum.

We are incredibly proud of all the teaching staff, students, employer partners and also staff from our own business who have worked so hard to make the Academy such a success.

We are grateful to The Countess for her support and endeavour to continue our work to ensure that all young people have equal access to good education regardless of where they live.”

 

-ENDS-

 

For further information on David Nieper visit https://www.davidnieper.co.uk/

For further information on David Nieper Academy visit https://davidnieper.academy/

For press information and photography contact:

David Nieper Press Office, [email protected] 07904 257687