Notable People and Alumni
The college is a charitable organisation and is registered with the Charity Commission, the government body which oversees charities in England and Wales. It has a number of high profile supporters which include Charles, Prince of Wales, who is the current Patron, a position he has held since 1997. The current president is Mrs Jessica White, and there are several public figures who serve as vice presidents. These include the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Archbishop of Westminster, Countess Mountbatten of Burma and Michael Buerk. In 2008 the BBC sports presenter Gabby Logan and Daily Mail columnist Des Kelly both became Patrons of the England Blind Football team.
Since the Principalship passed outside the Campbell family in 1934 a number of individuals have held the position. Among them are Lance Marshall who was principal at the time the college moved to its Hereford campus in 1978, followed by Colin Housby-Smith and then Roisin Burge. Christine Steadman oversaw the college's restructuring during her tenure in the late 2000s and proved to be unpopular with staff and students; Steadman resigned in November 2008. Geoff Draper, a former Colonel in the British Army, was appointed to the position on 7 December 2009. The present incumbent is Sheila Tallon, who succeeded Draper in September 2011.
Graduates of the college include David Blunkett, British Labour Party politician and former Home Secretary, and Alfred Hollins, English composer and organist. Giles McKinley, who starred in a groundbreaking television commercial for Sauza Tequila during the 1990s, is a former RNC student. The actor Ryan Kelly, who in 1997, became the first completely blind student to join the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, and plays the role of Jack "Jazzer" McCreary in Radio 4's The Archers, attended RNC. The Paralympic cyclist Anthony Kappes also studied at the college.
Read more about this topic: Royal National College For The Blind
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