Teacher chips his way to royal recognition

A stonemasonry lecturer from York has received The President's Award from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Kevin Calpin was selected to receive the prestigious accolade for his outstanding achievement as a teacher and master craftsman of stonemasonry - a craft that uses stone or brick for traditional building techniques and materials.

Calpin, who teaches at York College, received the award from HRH The Duke of Edinburgh this afternoon at St James's Palace.

The President's Award is the personal gift of City & Guilds' President, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. One award is presented each year to recognise the unsung heroes among lecturers and trainers and to acknowledge the incredible work done by teaching staff. It was introduced three years ago to celebrate the 50th anniversary of His Royal Highness's presidency of City & Guilds.

Calpin has been teaching stonemasonry at York College for 19 years. He was trained as a stonemason by the then Master Mason of York Minster, Bill Holland, who told him that this craft was literally dying away. It was these words that inspired Calpin to become a teacher so that he could pass on his skills and help maintain traditional craftsmanship.

Since then, his work at York College has been instrumental in its receiving Centre of Vocational Excellence status. It has also been awarded £700,000 for capital investment to support the excellent work of its stonemasonry workshop.

Calpin regularly encourages his learners to take part in a wide range of stonemasonry demonstrations and competitions at regional, national and international level - a highlight came in 2005 when one of his students achieved a silver medal at the World Skills competition in Helsinki.

WorldSkills, held every two years, is the largest and most prestigious skills competition in the world with 40 different countries participating. Medals are won in skills areas ranging from hairdressing and beauty therapy to landscape skills and stonemasonry. WorldSkills will be coming to London in 2011.

David Young, Chairman of City & Guilds, said: 'For the past 19 years, Kevin Calpin has helped the stonemasonry department at York College go from strength to strength, and in the process, manifested enormous enthusiasm for, and creativity and originality in, teaching and learning. His original approach to teaching and the excellent standard he encourages from all those around him makes him a worthy winner of this year's President's Award.'

Kevin Calpin commented: 'I am delighted to receive this award from His Royal Highness and am pleased to see how stonemasonry is receiving further recognition for its value as a skill and profession. It is important that we help maintain this traditional craftsmanship for our future generations.'

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Media queries:   
Photographs of Kevin Calpin are available from:
Nina Roman
City & Guilds
Tel: 020 7294 8054
E-mail: nina.roman@cityandguilds.com

Notes to editors:
His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh has been President of City & Guilds for over 50 years.

City & Guilds (www.cityandguilds.com ) is the UK's leading awarding body for work-related qualifications.   The charity operates from three major hubs:   London (servicing Europe, the Caribbean and Americas), Johannesburg (servicing Africa), and Singapore (servicing Asia, Australia and New Zealand).

In total, City & Guilds awards 1.3 million certificates to learners each year on over 500 subjects ranging from hair and beauty to catering and management.   1.9 million people are currently working towards a City & Guilds qualification.

The City & Guilds Group comprises the Institute of Leadership & Management (management and leadership awards, NPTC (land-based awards) and the Hospitality Awarding Body (catering and hospitality awards).