photo of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan at Loughborough University

TRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend Coach Core awards ceremony at Loughborough University

The University was delighted to welcome their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to the campus on Monday 24th September for an awards ceremony to celebrate young people’s achievements in sports coaching.

The Coach Core apprenticeship scheme – which is a project of The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and The Duke and Duchess of Sussex – gives young people aged 16 to 24 the chance to become the next generation of inspirational coaches.

photo of Duchess of Sussex Meghan talking to Coach Core coaches‌ 

The day began with more than 200 Coach Core apprentices and graduates taking part in masterclass sessions with sports stars including Loughborough alumnae marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe and swim coach Mel Marshall.

Afterwards, BT Sport’s Jake Humphrey hosted a panel session with a range of sports people including Loughborough-based athlete Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.

The graduating apprentices and sports stars then took part in a netball shootout with Their Royal Highnesses, who were on opposing teams. The Duke’s team won the informal shootout 3-2.

 ‌photo of Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan playing netball with coaches and sportstars

During the awards ceremony at the close of the day, The Duke told the award winners and other graduates of the project: “Once you graduate it’s your job to inspire the next generation after you, an ability you all now have, whether you know it or not.

“To sports clubs all over Britain, I’d like to say this: the people ready to coach the stars of the future are right here in this room.”

photo of Prince Harry awarding a graduating coach with an award at the ceremony at Loughborough University

Notes for editors

Press release reference number: 18/128

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Loughborough is one of the country’s leading universities, with an international reputation for research that matters, excellence in teaching, strong links with industry, and unrivalled achievement in sport and its underpinning academic disciplines.

It has been awarded five stars in the independent QS Stars university rating scheme, named the best university in the world for sports-related subjects in the 2018 QS World University Rankings, top in the country for its student experience in the 2018 THE Student Experience Survey and named University of the Year in the Whatuni Student Choice Awards 2018.

Loughborough is in the top 10 of every national league table, being ranked 4th in the Guardian University League Table 2019, 7th in the Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018 and 7th in The UK Complete University Guide 2019. It was also named Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2017.

Loughborough is consistently ranked in the top twenty of UK universities in the Times Higher Education’s ‘table of tables’ and is in the top 10 in England for research intensity. In recognition of its contribution to the sector, Loughborough has been awarded seven Queen's Anniversary Prizes.

The Loughborough University London campus is based on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and offers postgraduate and executive-level education, as well as research and enterprise opportunities. It is home to influential thought leaders, pioneering researchers and creative innovators who provide students with the highest quality of teaching and the very latest in modern thinking.

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