Duo receive MBEs on eve of Tour de France challenge

South & City College principal Mike Hopkins and ex-England footballer Geoff Thomas have both been honoured by the Queen - just a week before they prepare to ride the Tour de France together in aid of Cure Leukaemia.

Mr Thomas, a blood cancer survivor and now a Cure Leukaemia ambassador, has received an MBE for his work in raising money for charities.

And Mr Hopkins (pictured) has also been awarded an MBE for services to education.

The pair are both part of the Tour 21 team who, between Saturday 19 June and Sunday 11 July, will ride all 21 stages of the Tour de France ahead of the professionals.

They are planning to raise more than £1m for Cure Leukaemia, the first official charity partner of the Tour in the UK.

Cure Leukaemia recorded a £1.7m fundraising shortfall in 2020 due to the pandemic and The Tour 21 team have already raised more than £753,000 towards their target.

All funds will be invested in the national Trials Acceleration Programme (TAP) which has been solely funded by Cure Leukaemia since January 2020.

Geoff, 56, said: “I am immensely proud and humbled to have been awarded an MBE and my thoughts immediately turned to all of the people that have helped me get here over the years.

“There are so many people I need to say thank you to because what we have achieved for blood cancer patients across the UK as a team is remarkable but there is so much more work that needs to be done. I hope that this news helps raise further awareness of Cure Leukaemia so that it can be established as the leading blood cancer charity in the UK.

“After so many hurdles, next week myself and the team will finally head to France to ride The Tour 21 and we are firmly focused on ensuring we raise and surpass £1,000,000 because every penny will directly benefit the 38,000 people who are diagnosed with a form of blood cancer in the UK each year. ”

Mr Hopkins was born in inner-city Birmingham and went to school and university in the city.

He became the principal of South Birmingham College (SBC) in 2007, prior to which he was the vice principal for three years.

SBC took over City College to become South & City College Birmingham in 2011, saving 331 jobs and safeguarding the future of 14,000 students.

In 2017, the college took over another financially troubled college (Bournville College), securing 266 jobs and allowing 12,500 students to reach their full potential.

Mr Hopkins has worked with the West Midlands Combined Authority to secure millions of pounds worth of funding to provide construction training to unemployed people across the region and recently invested over £2 million in a new Engineering Centre and a National Express Training Academy, in direct response to the region 's skills priorities.

Mr Hopkins said: “It was a real surprise to receive an MBE and something I had never expected.

“I feel very humbled and honoured as I have never sought any such personal recognition, I have simply done the best I can throughout my career. My focus has always been our students and staff and my recognition is really a recognition of what our staff and students have done.

“They are the reason I have it and need to take much of the credit and I am immensely grateful to them. I firmly believe that students are at the heart of everything we do and our staff consistently go above and beyond to ensure their success.

“We have grown to be the largest college in the region because of what we do and what we give to Birmingham and there is still a lot to do especially with the aftermath of the Pandemic. I hope my award will give greater recognition to the college for the future. ”

South & City College Birmingham is a patron of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Chamber CEO Henrietta Brealey said: “Mike is a wonderful ambassador for the region who has dedicated his career to improving the lives of young people.

“He is also a fantastic supporter of the Chamber and the wider business community.

“This honour is richly deserved and the Chamber team send him our congratulations.

“We also send our congratulations to all those across the region who were recognised in the Queen 's Birthday Honours. ”