Gateway Sixth Form College students were visited by the Kings appointed representative, the High Sheriff of Leicestershire, Henrietta Chubb JP for an introduction to the work that she does.
The event was organised by Mrs Hannah Bishop, Teacher and Curriculum Leader for the Learning for Life and Work department at Gateway Sixth Form College. The students who took part have a range of high needs and are studying vocational and academic Level 1 pathways. They had been learning about the public services and civil roles and were keen to meet the High Sheriff. They had prepared lots of questions and were excited to have their photographs taken with her.
The High Sheriff was quick to point out that she is not a member of the Royal family but a representative of the Crown and an unpaid volunteer. This surprised many of the students! She went on to explain that she does not attend glamorous parties or hob nob with celebrities, but rather, spends her busy days and evenings visiting the many volunteers, charities, community groups and emergency services across the city and county to thank and praise them for the tireless work that they do. Our unsung heroes!
She said that although the post was created over 1000 years ago, each High Sheriff is only appointed for one year. It is a non-political, secular role and she was nominated by an esteemed panel and appointed by King Charles in March 2023 to represent his interests in the county of Leicestershire. Each High Sheriff can choose their own theme for their year in office and the three charities they want to champion. The three closest to her heart are Charity Link, Warning Zone and Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation, with thousands of pounds raised for them during her tenure so far.
She continued,
“It is an honour to do this role and an education and a pleasure to meet volunteers and people who are making a difference. It is a fantastic opportunity for me to serve the county and I get an enormous buzz out of it.”
“I never ceased to be impressed with the charities that have been set up by someone who saw that something needed to be done, and so they did it. They are amazing, amazing, amazing people!”
“We all have that power to make a positive difference to someone else.”
The students then asked Mrs Chubb JP about her beautiful uniform and hat.
She explained that the uniform was especially made for her, and each county has a different colour, for example, “we wear dark blue velvet in Leicestershire, and dark green velvet in Nottingham”. There is about a half and half split between male and female High Sheriffs now, although this has not always been so. The men carry a sword, while the ladies have a large white ostrich feather in their hat. This harks back to the days when ladies in the Royal Court wore three feathers in their hats arranged in a ‘Prince of Wales plume’ and the men carried swords. On entering a place of worship, the male High Sheriffs must remove their sword.
And one final question from the students before photographs… who can be a High Sheriff? The answer was loud and clear,
“You don’t need to have been born in England to be nominated as a High Sheriff, but you do need to live in the county that you represent. You don’t need any special qualifications; you just need a lot of energy and enjoy meeting people.”
“Maybe you could be High Sheriff one day.”
Huge thanks to the High Sheriff for spending a wonderful afternoon with our staff and students.
For more information about the High Sheriff and her visit to Gateway College follow this link:
To find out more about our Learning for Life and Work department follow this link: