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The High Sheriff of Worcestershire said the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester brings a vibrancy to the City, putting it and the county on the map.

Charles Moyle also praised the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester’s approach and facilities during a recent visit.

“The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is a very valuable jewel, and we need to look after it and get behind it as a community in Worcestershire,” said Mr Moyle. “It adds massively to the City. Commercially it adds a huge amount because students spend money. It makes the City vibrant, the City has a younger feel to it because of the ¹û¶³´«Ã½, and with that comes hope and inspiration and aspiration, so that’s really good. It puts Worcester and Worcestershire on the map that there is a world class university here.

“The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ team have been brilliant at taking defunct buildings and repurposing them to houses of inspiration and education. I’m born and bred in Worcester so I have seen different iterations of the City. The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ has contemporised the City, not just from the student perspective, but its repurposing of buildings in the best possible way.”

Mr Moyle’s tour included The Hive, the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester Arena and City ¹û¶³´«Ã½, as well as state-of-the-art teaching facilities for health students at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson building.

Having set up his own marketing communications business, Mr Moyle has more recently been involved with mentoring successful entrepreneurs. He said: “The ¹û¶³´«Ã½ of Worcester is an enormous success story, and it needs more amplification because the breadth of courses is so wide and also so relevant for today’s requirements.

“What I love about the ¹û¶³´«Ã½ is it’s relevant to today’s commercial requirements in terms of careers but it’s also relevant for professional roles which can be achieved by coming here and training.”

He praised the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s approach to inclusion. “If you look at the work done by the senior management team, it ensures that people with physical disabilities haven’t just a home here, but a home to thrive in where it’s designed around their needs,” he said. “That’s a really important attribute that so many more historic - in terms of age - learning establishments don’t have. It caters for a broader range of people, both able bodied and those with physical disabilities.”

He also highlighted the ¹û¶³´«Ã½’s “exceptional” and “world class” Medical School facilities, and the School of Law’s purpose-built courtroom. “It’s so relevant because most people aren’t taught that way, they are taught in a classroom and you can only teach so much in a classroom,” said Mr Moyle, who is a Magistrate.

At over 1,000 years old, the office of High Sheriff is the King’s highest judicial officer in the county, represented in every county in England and Wales. Nowadays the role, which is a voluntary one, involves a range of ceremonial, charitable and community functions as well as support for the Judiciary and public services.