Double Olympic gold medalist Helen Glover opens new West Cornwall health centre
The Enys Centre will provide integrated health services to students, staff and the local community in Penzance
Last updated 25th Oct 2024
A new integrated health and wellbeing facility celebrated its grand opening today in West Cornwall.
Part of Humphry Davy School in Penzance, the new Centre was officially opened by Barbara Vann - Chair of Duchy Health Charity, and Helen Glover MBE – Double Olympic Gold Medallist and former Humphry Davy School student, to provide services to students, staff and the local community.
Named The Enys Centre, over £400,000 of funding has been provided by Duchy Health Charity, Cornwall’s leading grant giving health charity for the promotion of health and wellbeing and the prevention of sickness in Cornwall and The Isles of Scilly.
Meaning “Island” in Cornish, the name “Enys” was chosen by the school and in particular the students.
A celebratory opening event took place this afternoon, with school governors, Duchy Health Charity Trustees and representatives from local professional users for the centre, along with local dignitaries and senior and pastoral leaders at the school in attendance.
Guests enjoyed a tour of the new facilities and refreshments, with entertainment from the Music Scholars, along with the opportunity to discover future plans for The Enys Centre, which include landscaping the surrounding area, installation of a sensory garden and trim trail, as well as forest school facilities.
Bill Marshall, Headteacher of Humphry Davy School said:
"At Humphry Davy School we are very proud of our reputation for our caring approach, working with professionals across a wide range of agencies to support students of all abilities to overcome personal challenges, achieve and succeed. The Enys Centre, funded and supported by the amazing Duchy Health Charity, takes our provision to a whole new level; providing resource and foundations for success for future generations in Penzance and the surrounding community.”
Helen Glover MBE – Double Olympic Gold Medallist and former Humphry Davy School student said:
“I’m a very honoured to be involved in the opening of the Enys centre. It is so wonderful to see such important initiatives being supported and put into life like this. My huge congratulations to everyone involved.”
Barbara Vann, Chair of Duchy Health Charity said:
“Following 18 months of hard work, we were delighted to invite people into the new Enys Centre today. The committee’s plans for improved health and wellbeing provisions, sited at Humphry Davy School, have come to fruition with a wonderful celebration. The Centre will use the principles of social prescribing at its core and its primary focus will be to support the students, staff and local community. Duchy Health Charity is extremely proud to have provided £437,000 in grant funding for the building and we are pleased that some of our Trustees who are part of our Intergenerational and Social Prescribing subgroup will continue to provide support and oversight, through involvement with the management board, as it achieves its vision of supporting the health and wellbeing of the local community.”
As part of its strategic work on supporting young people’s social prescribing in schools, the Trustees of Duchy Health Charity identified Humphry Davy School in Penzance as an ideal location for providing funding based on three key factors: levels of need for this provision in the Penzance area; a positive approach from a stable leadership team and governors; and the lively relationship with existing community groups.
The Enys Centre board will include not only representatives from Duchy Health Charity but also representatives from: The Humphry Davy School Board of Governors; The Humphry Davy Senior Leadership Team; Public Health Cornwall; Penwith PCN; and the local community, including Trelya and the Student Voice.
Funding is now being sought for additional projects to support the future development of the Centre.