INTERVIEW
have also been extremely helpful in setting
this up.
“Students will go to the Crown Court to
watch a trial and talk to the Judge afterwards,
and there will also be school visits by
Magistrates. Then on November 3 we will
be holding a Mock Trial with the eight
schools participating - Ryde, Ryde Academy,
Sandown, Medina, Carisbrooke, Cowes,
The Priory at Whippingham and the Sixth
Form College. The age limit is 14 and above,
and 16 students from each school will be
involved, with prosecution and defence, just
as in a real trial. We are planning a ‘dry run’
in September to help the students prepare for
the trial.
“Each school will be awarded points on
their performance at the Mock Trial, and
Rouse Ltd have donated a magnificent glass
trophy of a breaking wave on a plinth for the
winning school.”
Nick continued: “Secondly, as a concerned
father I would like to address the troubling
issue and burden of potential student
debt. For those entering further education
today, there are now great financial strains;
with high tuition fees and expensive living
costs… it must be a nightmare! “DebtCred,
a company closely associated with the
Shrievalty, prepares the young for university
life or employment by educating them in the
sensible use of credit, financial management
Left: Alan Titchmarsh, Nick Hayward, Lord Lieutenant Martin White and Gerald Reddington.
Top left: Nick outside the Seaview Hotel in 1982. Top right: Nick outside the hotel with Anthony
Minghella and actress Helena Bonham Carter. Above: Nick and his team during the Village
Regatta Centenary Celebrations. Below: Nick on Seagrove Bay aged five.
and the hazards of over
indebtedness.
Rouse Ltd, an Island financial
services company, have again
been extremely helpful, they are
now training their staff through
DebtCred in order to run this
programme in all the colleges
this autumn.” Nick’s third project
involves the elderly rather than the
youth of the Island. He continued:
“I want to focus on offering
dignity and support to the elderly.
A high proportion of the island
community are retired and live on
a limited income.
“For many getting old is
extremely worrying and with the
constantly rising utility costs,
many can ill afford to keep
warm. In conjunction with the
Community Foundation I hope to
highlight their Surviving Winter
Campaign. The Foundation is
trying to encourage people who do
not have financial problems, but
who still benefit from the Heating
Allowance, to donate it back to
help the less fortunate to help
meet their heating costs.
“I am also going to work with
Age Concern to promote their
Good Neighbourhood Scheme,
helping the elderly to maintain
their independence and enabling
them to remain living at home in
their later years.”
Nick, 61, was approached
by former High Sheriff Alan
Titchmarsh four years ago about
taking up the position this year.
He recalls: “I was struggling with
some cycling chums up a very
steep hill in Alsace, when my
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