What will you be doing to celebrate the King’s Coronation this weekend?

It looks set to be a busy one for our own fundraising champions, Gillian Hutchinson and Sian Cameron.

Invited as guests of the Lord Lieutenant of County Durham Sue Snowdon, the pair are off to the King’s Coronation concert in Windsor.

Joining them will be three former Etc. Prince’s Trust students, including Stockton Riverside College’s Prince’s Trust learning support assistant, Chloe.

“It is incredibly exciting and such a fantastic opportunity not just for us, but also to be able to share the experience with three of our young people,” said Gillian who heads up The Prince’s Trust department at the Education Training Collective (Etc.).

NETA's centre support manager, Sian, who has been invited for her volunteer work as chair of the Hartlepool branch of the Royal British Legion and the town’s Poppy Appeal organiser, said: “It is such an honour that with a limited number of tickets the Lord Lieutenant thought of us, and to have two people invited from the group is amazing. This is once in a lifetime stuff.”

The Coronation concert promises to be the highlight of the second day of Coronation celebrations this weekend, featuring a line-up of stars performing in front of an audience of 20,000 members of the public.

Gillian, who is also a keen fundraiser in her own time as a co-founder of David Nelson Memorial Fund, set up to buy defibrillators for Weardale, said: “I am particularly looking forward to seeing acts like Katie Perry and Take That perform, but just to be there and soak up the atmosphere will be unforgettable.”

Sian added: “For me it’s the whole thing, the fact that you are there, and I am sure it will be very British which means it will be full of pomp and ceremony.”

Other big names announced so far include Lionel Richie, Andrea Bocelli, Paloma Faith and Olly Murs, to name but a few. There’s also talk of Tom Cruise, Dame Joan Collins and even Winnie the Pooh appearing in a series of pre-recorded sketches.

Looking forward to the big event, learning support assistant Chloe said: “Imagine being asked, it is a privilege.”

Having undertaken The Prince’s Trust Achieve course herself, she added: “I didn’t imagine it would lead to working at the college but here I am.”   

Gillian and Sian’s part in the Coronation proceedings doesn’t end there as the pair, along with an Etc. Prince’s Trust student, have also been invited to play a part in the Coronation Choral Evensong at Durham Cathedral on Tuesday (May 9, 2023).