The Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to a Hackney school yesterday as part of a campaign to improve literacy among school leavers.

Hackney Gazette: The Duchess of Cornwall celebrates "Words for Words" at the City Academy, Hackney.The Duchess of Cornwall celebrates "Words for Words" at the City Academy, Hackney. (Image: Archant)

Her Royal Highness, who is patron of The National Literacy Trust, visited The City Academy in Homerton Row, Homerton to highlight the impact of the Words for Work programme which aims to tackle youth unemployment by improving literacy skills.

During her visit, the Duchess of Cornwall met students who were involved in various activities including CV preparation and learning about the world of work.

She observed students participating in role-play interviews with Nick Hewer, adviser to Lord Sugar on BBC show The Apprentice and a National Literacy Trust ambassador. She also met students who have contributed to an all party parliamentary group on literacy.

The visit concluded with Her Royal Highness presenting prizes to the winners of the Words for Work Competition 2013.

Mark Emmerson, principal of The City Academy, said: “The City Academy is delighted to be participating in the Words for Work programme as well as hosting this event. Strong communication skills are vital to our students’ success and building professional partnerships – as we have with our joint sponsor KPMG – helps students see the practical value of their learning link directly to their career aspirations. We encourage our students to aim high and projects like this give them the tools they need to achieve, while working with professional volunteers provides an opportunity to develop their speaking and listening skills and apply them to the world of work.”

The Words for Work programme was first launched in 2009 in response to concerns among businesses about the communications skills and work readiness of young people.