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The High Sheriff of Worcestershire said the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ brings a vibrancy to the City, putting it and the county on the map.

Charles Moyle also praised the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ’s approach and facilities during a recent visit.

“The University is a very valuable jewel, and we need to look after it and get behind it as a community in Worcestershire,” said Mr Moyle. “It adds massively to the City. Commercially it adds a huge amount because students spend money. It makes the City vibrant, the City has a younger feel to it because of the University, and with that comes hope and inspiration and aspiration, so that’s really good. It puts Worcester and Worcestershire on the map that there is a world class university here.

“The University team have been brilliant at taking defunct buildings and repurposing them to houses of inspiration and education. I’m born and bred in Worcester so I have seen different iterations of the City. The University has contemporised the City, not just from the student perspective, but its repurposing of buildings in the best possible way.”

Mr Moyle’s tour included The Hive, the ¹ú²úÊÓƵ Arena and City Campus, as well as state-of-the-art teaching facilities for health students at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson building.

Having set up his own marketing communications business, Mr Moyle has more recently been involved with mentoring successful entrepreneurs. He said: “The ¹ú²úÊÓƵ is an enormous success story, and it needs more amplification because the breadth of courses is so wide and also so relevant for today’s requirements.

“What I love about the University is it’s relevant to today’s commercial requirements in terms of careers but it’s also relevant for professional roles which can be achieved by coming here and training.”

He praised the University’s approach to inclusion. “If you look at the work done by the senior management team, it ensures that people with physical disabilities haven’t just a home here, but a home to thrive in where it’s designed around their needs,” he said. “That’s a really important attribute that so many more historic - in terms of age - learning establishments don’t have. It caters for a broader range of people, both able bodied and those with physical disabilities.”

He also highlighted the University’s “exceptional” and “world class” Medical School facilities, and the School of Law’s purpose-built courtroom. “It’s so relevant because most people aren’t taught that way, they are taught in a classroom and you can only teach so much in a classroom,” said Mr Moyle, who is a Magistrate.

At over 1,000 years old, the office of High Sheriff is the King’s highest judicial officer in the county, represented in every county in England and Wales. Nowadays the role, which is a voluntary one, involves a range of ceremonial, charitable and community functions as well as support for the Judiciary and public services.