Dingwall to host Royal visit

HRH The Princess Royal will be arriving in Dingwall on Tuesday 1 October to spend the morning in the Ross-shire town.

Her first visit of the day will be to meet pupils and staff at Dingwall Academy. During a tour of the school she will have the chance to find out how pupils have raised funds for The Teenage Cancer Trust, watch young people taking part in a defibrillator training session led by trainers from the HeartStart “Lucky2Bhere” project, find out about the school’s involvement in the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme and speak to the pupils who will have just completed their Silver expedition.  There will also be a visit to the art department to see the award winning designs of the recent Mercat Cross project in association with the Dingwall Conservation Area Regeneration scheme, and visits to classrooms to see pupils being taught, including those learning rural and sports skills.

The visit will end outside, with a tour around the new school garden where community volunteers and the young Diggers gardening group will be busy.  After guiding HRH around the site they will invite her to mark the visit by planting a fruit tree and unveiling a plaque.

Head teacher Karen Cormack said:  “We are all very excited and are looking forward to highlighting lots of the activities and good work that is going on. It’s also a chance to involve all the community volunteers, charities and other groups that the school has built up close links with.”

After leaving Dingwall Academy HRH will travel to Keltic Seafare to present the Dingwall- based company which supplies premium quality Scottish shellfish across the globe with their Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade. 

Established in 1992, the company has steadily grown to become Scotland’s number one live shellfish supplier offering a seabed to table service at a 24-hour turnaround with hand dived scallops, creel-caught langoustines, lobster and crab on the menu. As well as offering a mail order service to customers around the world, Keltic Seafare supplies premium restaurants, supermarkets and wholesalers across the UK and Europe.

With a turn over last year of over £5 million, the company’s export sales have increased by 1,633 per cent over the past six years.

Managing Director Ben Murray said:  “We were delighted to hear we had received this very prestigious award but to have it presented in person by HRH is really a very big honour.  The visit will be a very special and memorable occasion and it will allow our dedicated staff and guests to share in the company’s’ success.”

The Royal visit to Dingwall Academy will involve a tour of Dingwall Community Library so library users are advised that the library will be closed to members of the public on Tuesday 1 October from 9am – 12 noon.

16 Sep 2013