Thursday, September 6, 2012

It's a manny's world! Teenager becomes first male undergraduate at prestigious 'Mary Poppins' nanny college

  • Michael Kenny is the only male in a class of 48 women studying at the world famous Norland College
  • Will don the classic outfit as he learns the art of being a practically perfect nanny

By Anna Edwards

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It's normally only women? who are trained in the art of turning curtains into costumes and become a dab hand at changing nappies at a world-famous nanny college.

But now one male teenager is set to be the first-ever man to pass through the education degree course that turns out the modern Mary Poppins.

Now Michael Kenny is hoping to become practically perfect in every way while he attends Norland College, in Bath.

Practically perfect in every way: Michael Kenny, 18, joins his fellow female students on his first day ar Norland College

Practically perfect in every way: Michael Kenny, joins his fellow students on his first day at Norland College

Student Michael Kenny, 18, is the only male in a classroom full of 48 women studying at the college - but it takes more than a spoonful of sugar to pass the demanding course.

Michael, who has had to endure lots of jokes from his friends, admitted he initially wasn?t even sure if the college in Bath, Somerset, took on male students.

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He had to ring the college to check - because he had only ever seen female students around the city.

Now while his female counterparts wear the classic cream dress and brown hat, he will don a tweed jacket, cream shirt, matching tie and beige trousers for his studies.

Warm welcome: Fellow students Louise Flatley, Alice Jefferies, Annalise Hobbs, Flo Richardson and Lucy Sheridan make Michael feel at home

Warm welcome: Fellow students Louise Flatley, Alice Jefferies, Annalise Hobbs, Flo Richardson and Lucy Sheridan make Michael feel at home

Spot the odd one out: He will be put through his paces alongside his female counterparts training to become a nanny

Spot the odd one out: Michael will be put through his paces alongside his female peers on the course

But he says instead of feeling out of the loop he has been warmly welcomed by all of the female students.

Michael said: 'Funnily enough they have just been caring more about how I have been feeling, making sure I am OK.'

Michael says he was drawn to the job because he has spent time teaching English and maths to severely disabled children in an Ugandan orphanage.

Holding the baby! Michael is pictured with (left to right) Alexandra Adam, 19, Joanna Bennet, 19, and Olivia Mitchell 18 as he begins his new studies

Holding the baby! Michael is pictured with (left to right) Alexandra Adam, 19, Joanna Bennet, 19, and Olivia Mitchell, 18, as he begins his new studies

Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious nannies! Michael Kenny and students (left to right) Alexandra Adam, 19, Joanna Bennet, 19, and Olivia Mitchell, 18, in their iconic uniforms

Supercallifragilisticexpialidocious nannies! Michael Kenny and students (left to right) Alexandra Adam, 19, Joanna Bennet, 19, and Olivia Mitchell, 18, in their iconic uniforms

Spick and span: Michael is neatly turned out for his first day of college, which boasts that every single graduate leaves there with a job

Spick and span: Michael is neatly turned out for his first day of college, which boasts that every single graduate leaves there with a job

Mary Poppins.jpg

Students base themselves on the perfect nanny, Mary Poppins

He said: 'I wanted to work with children because I can understand young people a lot better - I find them a lot easier to get on with.

'I think I would like to be a nanny for a few years, because it is the whole reason you go through the training.

'But then after that I would like to do a PGCE and become a nursery teacher or work in a prep school.'

Michael, whose parents Simon and Mary, sister Alice, 17, and brother John, 12, live in Uganda, will be only the second male in the college?s 120-year history to graduate with the Norland Diploma.

Norland College principal Liz Hunt welcomed Michael to the fold and said her supercallifragilisticexpialidocious students were more in demand than ever before.

She claimed every graduate will have a job offer sourced by the college?s in-house nanny agency so they are ready to start straight after finishing their studies.

Mrs Hunt said: 'We always have more job opportunities than we have students, the demand certainly outstrips supply.

'The modern-day Norland graduate also goes on to work in a wide range of careers such as management of nurseries or primary school teaching.'

HOW TO BECOME A PRACTICALLY PERFECT NORLANDER NANNY

Norland College, founded in 1892 by Emily Ward, is a leading provider of childcare training.

The founder focused her training on the principles of Friedrich Froebel, the German educationalist who developed the 'kindergarten system'.

It has trained more than 7,000 nannies in 120 years, and it's Early Childhood Studies course concentrates on numerous aspects of childhood.

Students study elements of social science, psychology, child health, history, literature and education.

It also trains its students - known as 'Norlanders' when they graduate - how to work with families, develop a child's math skills and become a whizz in the kitchen and teach a child not only how to cook, but how to cook healthy meals.

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Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2199043/Its-mannys-world-Teenager-male-undergraduate-prestigious-Mary-Poppins-nanny-college.html?ITO=1490

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