Princess of Wales recalls 'great opportunities' of student days

The Princess of Wales spoke to staff and students about their work on mental health support

Catherine, Princess of Wales, has said she would "love to be a student again" after seeing how two universities work to support mental health.

At Nottingham Trent University (NTU), Kate was shown how student and staff wellbeing was supported, following World Mental Health Day on Tuesday.

She said mental health "does matter" and took part in a session designed to build students' confidence.

As part of this she said university was a time of "great opportunities".

At NTU's Clifton Campus she spoke to representatives from both NTU and the University of Nottingham about a variety of initiatives including peer-to-peer mentoring, NTU's mental health dashboard and Step in Circle sessions, which encourage students to share experiences to help them build confidence.

Crowds turned out to greet the princess and some took the opportunity for a selfie

Taking part in one of these, Kate said: "I'd love to be a student again.

"I remember university for me was one of those great opportunities to try out new hobbies, and that has carried through now.

"I loved trying out new things, and challenging myself, whether [in] sports, music, or art.

"It's one of the things with my kids too, just trying out new things, and university for me was when I learned to try out because there is so much on offer."

Emma Hynd from NTU said data use allowed staff to proactively approach students

Student Mario Ogboriavwien said when he arrived last year from Nigeria, he was shy and lacking in confidence but Step In Circle had helped.

"Over the sessions I have had a chance to develop myself and my speaking abilities," he said.

"It's really good if you are looking to come out of your shell and just talk."

Emma Hynd, a learning analytics operations manager at NTU, said the mental health dashboard used data to identify students who might be struggling.

"It's things like logging in to the virtual learning environment, card swipes into buildings and attendance at lectures and seminars," she said.

"We give the data to students to learn about what engagement means to them but we also proactively reach out to students who might need some support."