A Space for Young People in Mole Valley – The Leatherhead Youth Project.

I had an enjoyable visit to the Leatherhead Youth Project earlier this week. It must have been about eight years ago that I last visited and it was good to see it thriving. Launched in 2008 they provide much needed services for young people in North Leatherhead and more recently Bookham and across Mole Valley helping young people be safe, resilient and able to make positive changes in their own lives and in the community.

In North Leatherhead they offer an after school hub with a variety of activities, with experienced youth workers and counsellors available to provide guidance if required. They also provide food for those that attend and offer opportunities to go on trips, volunteer and run activities to help with the transition form primary to secondary schools and tuition help.

It was great to be shown around by CEO Jude Crome and Marketing & Community Fundraiser, Laura Dicken and also meet some of the young people having a great time.

ACS International Schools STEAM Event at Thorpe Park.

It is a long time since I went to a theme park, so I was very excited to be invited to the ACS International Schools STEAM 2025 event at Thorpe Park.

I joined the Lord Lieutenant in seeing almost 10,000 8-18 year old school children undertaking STEAM (Science technology, Engineering, Art and Maths) challenges prepared and supervised by an array of companies, to earn stamps. Five stamps resulted in a free ride! The enthusiasm of the young people was plain to see and it was interesting to note that many just wanted to get as many stamps as possible rather than enjoy the rides. 

It is a wonderful way to open the eyes of young people to opportunities in the STEAM related industries which ultimately is equally as rewarding for the companies involved as some of these young people may become their future employees. We were escorted round by Tim Cagney, CEO, and Graeme Lawrie, Partnership Director, who has orchestrated bringing together over 100 schools and community organisations to co-create and collaborate on a large number of projects to enrich pupil’s learning beyond the classroom of which STEAM 2025 at Thorpe Park is the flagship event.

Next time I hope I can stay a little longer to collect some stamps!

Recognising People who go the Extra Mile in our County – Investiture of British Empire Medals.

I had the pleasure of once again attending the ‘Surrey Investiture of British Empire Medals’ this week. There were five recipients from across the County who were presented with their medals by the Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey, Michael More-Molyneux on behalf of HM The King. Ms Angela Cogbill BEM, for services to Children with special education needs and adults with disabilities,  Mr Bryan Kenneth Cross BEM, for services in the Community in Surrey, Mrs Jayne Audrey Lightfoot BEM, a teaching assistant, for services in Education, Ms Meredith McCammond BEM, a chartered Tax adviser for services to vulnerable groups, and Mr Jonathan Richards BEM, an emergency response volunteer for the British Red Cross. 

Listening to the citations which were read by the Vice Lord Lieutenant – Mary Cresswell, I was inspired by the stories of each recipient, and it is heartwarming to see them going the extra mile for people in their county. Following the ceremony and official photographs I had the chance to chat to them and their families over tea and cakes in the stunning setting of Loseley House. 

Photos by Andy Newbold.

The Fountain Centre’s Fashion Show – Over £8k Raised for Cancer Support.

Suzanne and I were delighted to attend the Fountain Centre’s Fashion Show at the Harbour Hotel in Guildford on October 4th. The Fountain Centre is an independent cancer charity and each month they have some 1,400 people coming through their doors for counselling, complementary therapies, exercise and information. The cost of providing this service is over £600,000 a year and fund-raising events like the fashion show, which has been running for a number of years, are vitally important. It must be nerve-wracking for anyone to get up on a catwalk, but the models this evening were some of the people that are currently undergoing cancer treatment and are beneficiaries of the Foundation Centre. Understandably nervous but with the raucous support of family and friends and an upbeat soundtrack they were soon strutting their stuff modelling outfits  from one of the main sponsors, Elphicks department Store in Farnham. Nick Hobson, the Chairman, looked after the Mayor of Guildford, his wife, Debbie, and ourselves and we had a most enjoyable evening which raised over £8,000.

Service for the Judiciary 2025

The Service for the Judiciary – 3rd October 2025

One of the main events in the calendar of the High Sheriff is to hold a service for the Judiciary and all who uphold the Kings Peace. Traditionally this has been held at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford, and commences with two processions from the Guildhall to the church up Guildford High Street. The Civic Procession, including the Mayors and Chairs of Surrey Boroughs & Districts led by the Town Crier, and the High Sheriff’s Procession withthe Resident Judge of Guildford Crown Court and other members of the Judiciary including coroners, circuit and district judges and Surrey Magistrates joining me, the Under Sheriff and my two police cadets. I was also delighted this year to welcome Dr Tim Foutts, the High Sheriff of West Sussex, to join in the occasion. We were all suitably robed and brought some colour and pageantry to entertain the early morning shoppers who were also serenaded by trumpeters from the London Banqueting Ensemble as we processed. Thankfully, the rain abated just long enough to ensure that robes and wigs did not get sodden.

The Rector – Simon Butler led a wonderful service which included the amazing choir from the Royal Grammar School, whilst pupils from Holy Trinity Pewley Down School watched from the balcony. A Big thank you goes to Will Todd for not only allowing his anthem ‘Lighting the Way’ to be sung but also for attending himself and providing the music before the service. 

During the Service, I reaffirmed my Shrieval Promise and the upholders of law and order, both judicial and civic vowed to continue their faithful service. All present then made a faith and community declaration for Surrey declaring that we would work together to ensure our County should continue to be a place of welcome generosity and equality, with respect to all.

After the service as the fanfares once again sounded from the trumpeters, we processed back to the Guildhall, again avoiding the raindrops and with enthusiastic cheers from local schoolchildren lining the route, where we were treated to some light refreshments.

Tim, Suzanne and I were then delighted to join a few members of the Judiciary for lunch at The County Club opposite the Guildhall, to round off a wonderful occasion.

Photos by Andy Newbold

HMP Send and High Down

Recently I have been performing my pleasurable duty of supporting the Judiciary and all who uphold the King’s Peace. Prior to the Service for the Judiciary, which I have already written about on Friday October 3rd, Suzanne and I were invited to visit two of the prisons in Surrey, HMP Send and HMP High Down.

I had visited HMP Send earlier in the year when attending the Art Exhibition co-ordinated with The Michael Varah memorial Fund and Watts Gallery; but this was the first time we had actually toured the prison. It was a beautifully sunny day which made the tour round the extensive horticultural areas most enjoyable. They grow a substantial amount of food for their own consumption and many of the inmates have their own patch in which to grow vegetables or plants of their choice.

Prison Governor, Esther Dainton, gave generously of her time to give us a tour of all areas and to explain many of the innovations within the prison; from more secluded quarters for some of the older inmates to be located together, to an area where inmates who are willing to stop their dependency on drugs can reside in en-suite pods next to each other in a small, more open, community. They are regularly tested to ensure they are remaining drug free and it is helpful towards their rehabilitation. As is, the ability to learn many skills inside, for example working with charity Fine Cell teaching soft work skills.

Later that week, Suzanne and I made a return visit to HMP High Down. When we visited earlier in my Shrieval year, we noticed that they were putting the finishing touches to installing an immersive suite which was a collaborative project with East Surrey College called Empowering Education and Sustainable Skills for a Fresh Start. Prison Governor, Emily Martin, kindly invited us back for the official opening and it is an incredible piece of kit. Richard Jackman, Business and Community Engagement Manager at High Down, who gave us an extensive tour of the prison on our previous visit, acted as MC and introduced the various partners, including BT Metaverse Learning and the Greater London Authority, who had contributed to the initiative, which had been complicated by the need to keep access to communication networks restricted within the prison confines. 

We were then given a demonstration to show how the immersive technology could be used to teach certain green jobs such as installing solar panels or heat pumps; how it could provide immersive instruction on adjusting to the outside world, from leaving prison and walking to a train centre or entering East Surrey college for the first time; and how it could play immersive videos to both stimulate active engagement or reduce anxieties for those with neurodiversity issues. 

It is an innovative project, the first of its kind in a prison in the UK aimed at reducing reoffending by equipping learners with valuable knowledge and practical skills.

HRH The Duke of Gloucester opens a New Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames.

Suzanne and I were honoured to join His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester and the Lord Lieutenant at the wonderful new Eclipse Leisure Centre in Staines-upon-Thames. It is an astonishing building boasting a 200-station gym, two swimming pools, sports hall, squash courts, Clip ‘n Climb, and four rooftop 5-a-side football pitches! It is one of the world’s largest Passivhaus certified leisure centres – meaning it has been recognised for its outstanding environmental efficiency and sustainability performance credentials and is one the first certified Passivhaus leisure facilities in the UK .

We were treated to a tour of the amazing facilities and met, amongst other users, the Spelthorne Parkies, a local club numbering over 120 members with Parkinson’s disease who were enjoying an active gym session.

We were escorted round by Daniel Mouawad, the CEO of Spelthorne Borough Council, who was rightly proud of this wonderful new community facility.

His Royal Highness unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit.

Brooklands Innovation Academy – Inspiring Britain’s Future Scientists.

The Brooklands Innovation Academy inspires Britain’s budding future scientists, engineers, mathematicians and innovators; especially on a day when some 480 Year 8 pupils get the opportunity to try some of the 24 workshops put on by an array of businesses operating in the STEM space, including McLaren, Surrey Satellites, British Airways and Ringway. I joined in an analysis of detecting invisible particles hosted by Stanhope Seta, and Suzanne and I failed miserably with my two cadets Imogen and Grace in robotic coding to navigate our submarine led by BAE Systems. 

The activities were interspersed with some keynote inspirational speeches and the event was put on by the Science Summer School whose co-founders Lord Andrew Mawson and Professor Brian Cox, provided further inspiration. Events like this often provide a lightbulb moment in young people’s lives as they see the future possibilities that exist for them, before they embark on their GCSE studies. It was evident how absorbing the events and talks were by the hush during the tuition and the very astute questions that followed.

Huge thanks must go to the sponsors of the event, Haleon, BAE Systems and  Stanhope-Seta; together with Alex Patterson and the amazing team at Brooklands Museum for providing such an inspirational setting and a huge number of volunteers, supported by the Bourne Education Trust.

New Developments at Brooklands Technical College

It was wonderful to see the impressive new developments both completed and in progress at the Brooklands technical College. £45m has been committed into the Weybridge campus providing new classrooms, sports hall, gym, community hub and a Special Educational Needs and Disabilities facility.

Suzanne and I were given a tour by Christine Ricketts, Principal & CEO, of some or the varied activities studied; including construction, car maintenance, hair-dressing, beauty salons, hospitality and many more. Although the college mainly caters for 16-18 year olds, it also has over 500 adults which attend in the evenings and some seventy 14-16 year olds which attend up to 13 hours of classes a week of having previously been home-schooled, or have struggled in mainstream education. This latter initiative of providing alternative learning is to be greatly applauded as it significantly helps reduce the risk of a young person becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) by providing opportunities not usually available until they leave school. Whilst we were on our tour we met a group of 14-16 year olds having a hairdressing lesson and all were diligently focussed and clearly enjoying the experience.

Meisha Harding is the Director for Foundation and Pathways co-ordinating the interaction with schools and parents to allow these young people to flourish and is pictured on the left here with Christine and myself.

The Mayor of Guildford’s Charity Calendar Launch

It is always a pleasure to see the creative side of my home town of Guildford and this weekend has been a joy on that score. Following the launch of Guildford Festival of the Arts, co-founded by my Daughter Charlie, I was also invited to the launch of the Mayor of Guildford’s 2026 Charity Calendar, in which Charlie was also involved as a judge of the final selection, as was my Friend from BBC Surrey – Mark Carter DL and my PR and Media Advisor Andy. The thirteen images selected, (one for each month and one for the cover), were revealed dramatically at ‘Art & Grind’ a fabulous art themed Cafe situated opposite the Holy Trinity and St. Mary’s Church on Guildford High street.

The stunning images – all taken in the Guildford area and around 100 initially, were chosen from entries to the Mayor’s photography competition, organised by the Guildford Photographic Society. The Mayor of Guildford – Howard Smith, who came up with the idea to raise funds for his four chosen charities, Phyllis Tuckwell, The Cheryl King Trust, Guildford Shakespeare Company and The Mayor of Guildford’s Local Support Fund said at the event; “There were so many wonderful entries that the judges had an incredibly difficult task selecting the final collection. This calendar is a celebration of Guildford Borough’s natural beauty, captured through the lens of our talented local photographers. I hope others will be as captivated by these images as we were, and enjoy them day by day through this stylish and practical family calendar. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped bring this project to life.” the Mayor continued “I’m especially grateful to the Guildford Photographic Society for organising the competition and to the judges for their expertise and thoughtful choices. Thanks to our generous sponsors every penny raised will go directly to my chosen charities.”

As High Sheriff I was there to help with the reveal which I am pleased to say added a touch of theatre to the proceedings – appropriately so during the Festival of the Arts. The evening continued with a lovely reception hosted by Art and Grind and lots of calendars being sold! The calendar is available for £10 and can be purchased online, at the Guildford Tourist Information Centre, Art & Grind, and Paper Moon bookshop.

Photos by Andy Newbold

The Mayor of Guildford – Howard Smith