Spring 2011Spring 2011Spring 2011Spring 2011

Connections GETTING AHEAD RETURNS TO GETTING AHEAD RETURNS TO GETTING AHEAD RETURNS TO GETTING AHEAD RETURNS TO

MORPETH WITH HELP FROM RBSMORPETH WITH HELP FROM RBSMORPETH WITH HELP FROM RBSMORPETH WITH HELP FROM RBS

The EBP would like to thank News International for sponsoring this edition of Connections

After an absence of several years from our Getting Ahead programme, Morpeth School has re-embraced the scheme as a component of the EBP’s Passport to Employability.

The school’s return to Getting Ahead was supported by The Royal Bank of Scotland’s Global Banking & Markets division, which provided more than 50 volunteers over the four events that the programme ran at the school. A specially tailored version of the scheme, designed to fit in with the school’s learning agenda for the ‘Passport’ programme, put communications and

presentation skills at its core.

Volunteers at one of the events were drawn from RBS’s Young Bankers Association (YBA), a networking and personal development forum open to all employees but mainly attracting those in the early stages of their careers, many of whom have come through the bank’s graduate training scheme.

Sophie Silver, who helps run the YBA, is no stranger to working with Tower Hamlets schools. “I got involved in an event when I was a graduate trainee and last year I organised a careers event with Tower Hamlets EBP which we are running again next month. I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well the students have done with today’s event and how they all seemed to fall in with their natural roles, reflecting their own talents.”

The task for the Morpeth students was to role play turning around a struggling business by changing and re-launching a product, re-branding and looking at ways to cut costs. Teams presented their proposals to their fellow students, teacher and business volunteers.

Students appreciated the opportunity of

having business people not too many years older than them working alongside them. Yves Barbe-Wilson said: “I have really enjoyed working with them. They

have been very supportive and they have knowledge of what we have been trying to do. In the first exercise we did today we had to ask them questions about themselves and try to guess their answers from our first impressions of them. It was a good way to get to know them better.” David Fiber, chair of YBA and one of the RBS volunteers who helped Yves’ team, commented: “Doing something like this is a completely different ballgame to what I normally do at work. You are working with a diverse group of people with different emotions and you need to draw out their talents. It was good for me to try and spot what each of their talents are.” Getting Ahead is one of a number of workshops that Morpeth students are undertaking as part of the wider Passport to Employability programme managed by Tower Hamlets EBP. Each ‘Passport’ module that the students successfully complete earns them credits that count towards a certified Edexcel Work Skills qualification with GCSE equivalency. At Level 2, (intermediate), the qualification is worth a GCSE pass at Grade B. RBS’s various divisions have worked with Tower Hamlets EBP in some of the borough’s schools for a number of years. RBS Global Banking & Markets launched

its community investment programme in

September, last year, and hopes to build

closer links with Morpeth School in the

future as Community Investment Director,

Caroline Edwards explains: “Our overarching objective is to create

opportunities for children and young

people to have a better future. Within that,

we focus our support in four key areas –

education, health, social welfare, and

enterprise & employability. Our global

programme encourages all of our staff

within Global Banking & Markets to

volunteer in the communities closest to

our offices and around 9,000 of them work in London. We want to make a difference

and, as such, our staff are eligible for

three days of volunteering each year.

“We will be working more closely with

Tower Hamlets EBP as we seek to

develop long-term, sustainable

partnerships. We have a long-standing

relationship with Columbia Primary School and have launched new Reading and

Number Partners schemes at Kobi Nazrul

Primary School. We already have links

with Morpeth through Coaching Partners

and our MoneySense programme, and

hope to work more closely with them on

Passport to Employability – plus we took

part in the Careers Options event last year

and will be repeating that next month.”

The winning Morpeth team with the EBP’s Ian Pope (back left), RBS volunteers Jacqueline Thomson and Banson Khoo (centre) and RBS Community Investment Director, Caroline Edwards (right).

Bringing business and schools together to help young people succeed

‘THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX’‘THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX’‘THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX’‘THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX’

STAR SHARES FASHION STAR SHARES FASHION STAR SHARES FASHION STAR SHARES FASHION

CAREERCAREERCAREERCAREER ADVICE ADVICE ADVICE ADVICE

Adam Ryan, who features in the reality TV series ‘The

Only Way is Essex’ as the boss of his own fashion

label, passed on some tips about breaking into the

industry when he attended a fashion and enterprise

workshop at Oaklands School.

Also the man behind Essex Fashion Week, Adam was at

Oaklands to help judge charity T-shirt designs produced by Year

9 students as part of the Passport to Employability programme.

The students had to present not only their creative design ideas

but also their grasp of budgeting, profit forecasting and

marketing.

Having watched the designs paraded on the catwalk and heard

the team presentations, Adam told the aspiring young

businesspeople: “You guys all did a fantastic job. If you want to

break into fashion, work hard, build your contacts, never lose

your excitement and always come up with something new and

fresh.”

Also watching the presentations was a group of senior managers

from Nomura, including Kenji Komura, Chief Operating Officer,

EMEA Nomura and a trustee of the Normura Charitable Trust.

The global investment bank has an established partnership with

Oaklands School and the Nomura Charitable Trust is the

principal sponsor of the Passport to Employability programme.

The judging panel voted the T-shirt design modelled by

14 year-old Adeline Watson together with her team’s

presentation as the winner. Adeline said afterwards: “I would

really love to work in fashion – to do a bit of modelling but also

some fashion journalism. My ideal job would be to work on a

magazine like Vogue.”

Adam Ryan invited some of the students to keep in touch with

him. “I know how hard it is to get started in this business and if

I can help some them, I will do my best.”

Adam Ryan with Nomura personnel and Oaklands students modelling their teams’ T-shirts.

Bringing business and schools together to help young people succeed page 2

SENIOR MANAGERS TURN SENIOR MANAGERS TURN SENIOR MANAGERS TURN SENIOR MANAGERS TURN

OUT FOR HEAD TO HEADOUT FOR HEAD TO HEADOUT FOR HEAD TO HEADOUT FOR HEAD TO HEAD When you are about to do your very first dry run for

an interview, who better to give some tips and

advice than some of industry’s top managers?

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s David Gu, global head of Rates & Currencies and co-head of EMEA Markets, and Rob Everett, chief operating officer, Europe, joined a contingent of 31 who turned out to put 180 Sir John Cass Foundation & Redcoat School students through their paces at our Head to Head event in January.

Other businesses that supported the programme included

the Army, Talbot Underwriting, Standard Chartered Bank, Beament Leslie Thomas, Perrett Laver, Lloyd’s Banking Group and Morgan Stanley.

And it was not just the students who learned a thing or two - David and Rob did too. They were so impressed by their interviewees that they are contemplating offering one a work experience placement at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

TRANSITION CELEBRATION TRANSITION CELEBRATION TRANSITION CELEBRATION TRANSITION CELEBRATION

AT ROTHSCHILDAT ROTHSCHILDAT ROTHSCHILDAT ROTHSCHILD

Ten students, now at Bow School, were recent guests at Rothschild where they met up with their mentors who had helped them through their transition to secondary school. The pilot programme matched the pupils with Rothschild volunteers, who met with them during the summer term last year – the boys’ final term at Old Palace Primary School. Meetings were designed around giving the pupils a chance to air any concerns and fears they might have about moving to a bigger school and to provide tips and advice on how to plan and manage their work. Sessions continued during the pupils’ first term at Bow, where Rothschild has a long standing partnership. ‘My mentor helped me with my feelings about going to secondary school,’ one of the boys commented. The visit to Rothschild was an end of programme treat and a chance to catch up on how the boys have settled in. It took in a tour of the archives, including the chance to pass round an imitation gold bar, view bonds from the early 19th century and pore over the Rothschild family tree. Lunch was provided, followed by a tour of the building, where the students learned that the print room is open 24 hours a day. A fresh group of Old Palace pupils will take part in the scheme during the summer term.

Rob Everett at Sir John Cass School

OPEN HOUSE VISIT FOR

LANGDON PARK

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An insight into the construction industry was the

purpose of a morning spent by Langdon Park

students in the company of Aldgate-based

construction firm, ISG, the company that recently

completed the Olympic velodrome.

The morning’s events, organised by the EBP as part of the

Construction Careers Open House programme, sponsored by

the City of London Corporation, began at ISG’s Head Office.

Here, the 20 students were given a tour of the building’s

various departments and listened to presentations from staff

involved in winning work, marketing and human resources.

The students, all in Year 9, have yet to make their GCSE

subject choices and were surprised to learn that so many

roles, other than purely building trades, were available within

the industry.

The party then moved on to the prestigious One New Change

retail/office complex adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral. ISG is

currently fitting out offices that shortly will become the new

headquarters for international law firm K&L Gates. Here, they

met Project Director, Mark Ashford and the architect, Donnie

Morphy. Both came through very different routes into the

industry. Mark told the students how he left school in East

London, at 16, with just a maths qualification and has now

ended up managing multi-million pound projects. Donnie, who

came through the American education system, spent five

years studying architecture at university and a further three

years training to get his licence to practise.

“Whatever interests any of you in this room,” Mark told the

assembled group, “I am sure there is a role within the

construction industry that will suit you.”

The Langdon Park students at ISG

A quick tour of the site gave the students the chance to see

work in progress. Up to 300 people are involved on the site at

different times and more than 20 different sub-contractors are

working on the £15 million project carrying out tasks such as

dry walling, installing ceilings, mechanical and electrical work,

laying floors, controlling finance and back office services.

Finally, there was a chance to visit the roof terrace with its

commanding views of St. Paul’s and the London skyline –

something that really impressed Langdon Park’s Imran

Chowdhury. “I really liked the views but I also learned that

there are lots of jobs in construction,” he said, “I liked the

buildings we visited but they were very expensive.”

Philippa Stone, Sustainability Manager at ISG said,

“Community engagement is a key focus of our Sustainability

Strategy. Our current ‘Careers in Construction’ initiative lends

itself to engagement with local Tower Hamlets schools. Not

only is it a chance for us to work with the local community, but

our staff are presented with an excellent opportunity to

develop their skills. We look forward to working with Langdon

Park School again in the near future.”

Construction Careers Open House is funded by the City of

London Corporation. The programme is managed by Inspire!

The Education Business Partnership for Hackney and Tower

Hamlets EBP has responsibility for delivering the scheme to

students in our borough’s secondary schools. Its aim is to

showcase careers in the construction and related industries

and give students an insight to business life in the Square

Mile. Around 85 Tower Hamlets students are expected to take

part in the initiative before it finishes at the end of March 2011.

The host companies have been COMO, Skanska, Gensler

and ISG.

AVIVA CHIEF IMPRESSED Aviva Chairman, Lord Sharman of Redlynch, OBE visited Marion Richardson School in the Autumn and was

given a tour by pupils Noore Boksh, Hafizur Rahman, Faisa Uddin and Naphysah Auwah.

Lord Sharman had taken up the invitation from the Education and Employers Taskforce as part of ‘Visit our Schools and Colleges Week’.

Accompanied by Marie Sigsworth, Aviva Group’s CSR Director and the EBP’s

Bea Stevenson, the delegation was entertained by an impressive gymnastics

show that pupils were rehearsing for the concert to mark the retirement of

long- serving Headteacher, John Ridgley, who stepped down at Christmas. The

display found favour with Aviva which has strong sporting links as sponsors of

the Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletics team.

The children took the party into every classroom in the school before heading off

to Mr Ridgley’s office for a discussion about how Aviva can support the school.

This year, volunteers will get involved with Year 5 and 6 pupils over 7 sessions of

our primary financial literacy programme, now re-launched as The BEE

programme (www.thebeeprogramme.com) which teaches business, enterprise

and employability in the classroom.

“Lord Sharman did ask me some questions but mostly I was telling him things

about our school and how we do lots of different things,” said 10 year-old Noore.

Lord Sharman of Redlynch OBE said: “We spent a very enjoyable day at Marion Richardson, we met some of the wonderful teachers

and students and were given a tour by four enthusiastic ambassadors from the school. The visit helped us understand further how

organisations such as Aviva can support schools to ensure that as a society we are meeting the needs of tomorrow.”

Noore and Naphysah chat with Lord Sharman

CITI SUPPORTS P2E AT

LANGDON PARK SCHOOL Citi Foundation and Citi volunteers have been adding their support for Passport to Employability – at Langdon Park School.

rewarding experience to work with young people in the local

community to see what drives and excites them.

‘The local community around the Wharf is historically

underprivileged and, for me, seeing the positive influence and role

modelling that Citi and also myself, as an employee of Citi, can

have on the next generation was fulfilling. This was a very

insightful experience and I hope that this project keeps its

momentum for the years to come. I think volunteering in the local

community is very important and even more so when it means

supporting young people.’

Stephanie Egbe also found that she gained from taking part.

‘It was incredibly rewarding assisting young adults with creative

and practical ideas; and helping them build the foundations of

commercial thinking that will be invaluable to them in any career.

‘They were a pleasure to work with and the activities also

stimulated me!’

Of course, the main purpose of this initiative was to enhance the

skills and employment awareness of the students, who also

concurred that it had more than met its brief. Langdon Park’s

Afsor Miah wrote: ‘We have learnt so much on the programme

about banking and working in the city from Ken (McCarthy) and

the business volunteers. I’d love to get an internship at Citi.’

Employees have assisted at six workshops for 60 students who, with a little targeted support, could achieve the BTEC qualification that ‘Passport’ offers. Their activities are based around designing and marketing a game that the students were due to present to a Dragon’s Den-style panel at the end of March. The Passport initiative is part of a wider employability skills programme in the school supported by local grant giving charity IDCF.

Students are always enthused by this type of enterprise activity but it has also really captured the imaginations of the Citi personnel involved.

Gita Shivarattan wrote: ‘I participated as a volunteer at Langdon Park School on the 17th January and 24th January. It was a very

Afsor Miah and Luan DInh on a visit to Citigroup Centre

Bringing business and schools together to help young people succeed page 4

TEN YEAR PARTNERSHIPTEN YEAR PARTNERSHIPTEN YEAR PARTNERSHIPTEN YEAR PARTNERSHIP

IS CELEBRATEDIS CELEBRATEDIS CELEBRATEDIS CELEBRATED

Once a week, for the past 10 years during term time, around 40 members of staff from law firm, Trowers & Hamlins have left their Tower Hill offices for the short journey to St Paul’s Whitechapel C of E Primary School. Here, as Reading Partners, they have spent their lunch hour helping some of the children to improve their reading, comprehension and fluency in English. The firm has lent considerable support to St Paul’s in other ways over the past decade, including funding for school trips, building projects and not least, the expertise of Partner, Ian Graham. Ian has been the school’s chair of governors for the past five years. This lengthy relationship, described by EBP Director, Mike Tyler as ‘a model corporate partnership’ was celebrated, just before Christmas, at a special reception. As well as its involvement with St Paul’s, Trowers & Hamlins volunteers have been regular supporters of the EBP’s Getting Ahead work-related learning programme. Ian Graham said, "We have an excellent relationship with St Paul's. The children are fantastic, they really enjoy the interaction with their Reading Partners. The Headteacher Terry Bennett and all his staff make us feel very welcome when we are at the school. The reading scheme is a great way for people from our firm to get involved in supporting the local community."

Ian (left) is pictured with long-standing readers, Ralph Picken, Denise Grafe, Jeremy Hunt and St Paul’s Headteacher

Terry Bennett (second right)

Some Year 10 Langdon Park students at the event

ARTBEAT MARCHES ONARTBEAT MARCHES ONARTBEAT MARCHES ONARTBEAT MARCHES ON In 2003, Allen & Overy launched an innovative scheme with Bethnal Green Technology College that has transformed the experience of hundreds of students. ArtBeat gives young people the opportunity to work alongside professional artists, in a wide range of different media. The students’ work contributes to the portfolios that they need to submit as part of their examination qualifications and much of the work has been chosen to go on exhibit to the public at Allen & Overy’s offices in Spitalfields. Thirty Year 10 students took part in this year’s initiative and the exhibition was the culmination of a ten week arts tutelage programme that aimed to open their eyes to the wealth of history, diversity and opportunity that the City of London offers, giving them a new perspective on their local environment.

Three professional artists led the programme, which this year focused on the theme art and literacy, and will be followed by a series of workshops over the course of the academic year. Paul Butler, one of the artists said:, "It was a great honour and great pleasure to work with the students. By tackling a project as ambitious as this, which they did through a process of trial and error, they've learned that it doesn't matter if you don't get things right first time round. If something doesn't work, try a different approach to make it better. This is an invaluable life skill to acquire, and the students deserve to be very proud of what they have achieved. I hope also it helps the young people to see that art isn't just about making pretty pictures - the arts are a huge industry which includes film, TV graphics, fashion, design and illustration, they should take it seriously as a career option.”

Allen & Overy's head of Social Investment, Susan Hazledine, added "The Artbeat project has gone from strength to strength since we launched it eight years ago, and we are always thrilled by the calibre of the artwork that the students produce. This year is no exception, and we are delighted to be able to share it for the first time with the local community through the exhibition."

Student Rabia Degerli with some of the artwork

at this year’s exhibition

SWANLEA TAKES

ENTERPRISE CROWN

A team of students from Swanlea School Business & Enterprise College took the 2010 Tower Hamlets Enterprise Challenge title beating schools from across the borough as well as Wyvern Technology College from Hampshire. The event, hosted at Cambridge Heath 6th Form College to mark Enterprise Week, drew teams from Mulberry School for Girls, St Paul’s Way Trust, Oaklands, Langdon Park, Sir John Cass and Swanlea schools plus Wyvern Technology College from Eastleigh, Hampshire. Wyvern is a member of the same enterprise network as Swanlea which enables schools to share knowledge, expertise and good practice. This was the sixth year that Tower Hamlets EBP ran the Tower Hamlets Enterprise Challenge. The challenge for this year’s 60 Year 9 and 10 students was to come up with a costed plan for a youth centre. Teams were marked on the quality of their proposal as well as their budget, marketing plans and final presentation. The winning Swanlea team decided that they would open a mobile youth centre so that young people across the East End could benefit. Wyvern Technology College finished in second place. Chris Walker, who teaches the Wyvern students, said afterwards: “I have been to a number of enterprise events and have found this one to be interesting, motivating and engaging. The students have enjoyed the day so much.”

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BLACKROCK HOSTS BLACKROCK HOSTS BLACKROCK HOSTS BLACKROCK HOSTS

ROOM 13 SALEROOM 13 SALEROOM 13 SALEROOM 13 SALE

The pre-Christmas sale of cards and products at BlackRock made by participants in the Room 13 International initiative is becoming a seasonal tradition. Room 13 is a registered charity that gives children the opportunity to express themselves through art whilst learning important life and business skills by running an art studio under the guidance of an artist-in-residence. The aim is for each Room 13 to become self-sufficient. BlackRock sponsored the original pilot programme that led to the very first Room 13 in London – at Old Ford Primary School in Bow. It went on to fund a second pilot scheme at Phoenix School. Both schemes are now established and, thanks to additional support from the TRS Foundation, has been joined by a third project at Beatrice Tate School. Both Phoenix and Beatrice Tate cater for students with special educational needs. On a snowy winter day, Room 13 students from Phoenix and Old Ford were hosted at BlackRock for an opportunity to sell their wares – and those from Beatrice Tate – to employees of the investment firm. The children showed no hesitancy in putting their, not inconsiderable, sales skills into action as BlackRock employees came into the staff canteen for lunch. Cards, calendars and glove puppets were on sale plus there was an opportunity for lunchers to view some of the original artworks produced by the children. Safia Begum, 11, from Old Ford Primary School explained some of the activities that they had undertaken at her Room 13 project. “We’ve been painting our hut (studio) and we have made wooden leaves to send to other Room 13s around the world and for fund raising. We will hang the ones we get on a tree.” The children’s sales efforts at BlackRock raised £1,304. Profits will be shared among the three schools to subsidise more art materials. Room 13 continues to produce exciting opportunities and surprises. The children involved in the initiative at Old Ford Primary School have seen their works go on exhibit to the public for the first time – at a gallery in Rivington Street in the City. The two-day exhibition was about to take place as Connections went to press. Benaifer Patel who has been a prime mover behind BlackRock’s involvement in Room 13, said: “This is their first public exhibition and they are all very excited but working hard on organising all the various aspects to make it a success, and learning a lot from their very experienced Artist in Residence, Bethany Murray.”

Old Ford and Phoenix students show off some of their wares BUSINESS TIPS FOR BUSINESS TIPS FOR BUSINESS TIPS FOR BUSINESS TIPS FOR

SIXTH FORMSIXTH FORMSIXTH FORMSIXTH FORM

Cambridge Heath Sixth Form College students had

the chance to develop their all-round business skills

when they took part in our popular enterprise

challenge to set up a T-shirt business.

There were 150 Year 12 students who were able to draw on

the experience and knowledge of a cohort of volunteers from

Nomura’s Human Resources Department.

Students were divided into different ‘companies’ to design, cost

and market their product. A representative from each company

modelled the T-shirt on the catwalk while the remainder of the

group presented the budget and the inspiration behind their

design.

Some of the young people taking part in the enterprise

challenge are additionally enrolled on the Passport to

Employability programme of work-related learning which has

The Nomura Charitable Trust as its principal sponsor. These

students earned credits on the enterprise challenge that

contribute towards their final qualification.

Nomura’s Verity Dickinson, who was responsible for arranging

for her departmental colleagues to attend the workshop, said:

“We recently did a presentation which highlighted that we

have a very privileged time working in the City compared with

some of those who live on our doorsteps. It struck a chord with

people, hence the response from those here today - so many

of them have skills beyond human resources that they can use

to help the students.”

Student, Riaz Uddin said that, as a result of the exercise, he

had learned that: “marketing is really complicated. One

mistake can cost a lot of money.” Nomura’s Koye Adejumo

was the business adviser supporting this team. He

commented: “It’s been a good day. It’s been tough because

it’s been moving really quickly and we’ve had to work out all

the finances within a tight deadline, but I work in finance, so I

hope I have been able to help them. The students have had

some really good ideas and part of my role has been to assist

them to articulate that.”

Nomura’s Verity Dickinson worked with a group of students with special educational needs

Bringing business and schools together to help young people succeed page 6

FINANCIAL LITERACY SCHEME FINANCIAL LITERACY SCHEME FINANCIAL LITERACY SCHEME FINANCIAL LITERACY SCHEME

CLOSES ITS BOOKS CLOSES ITS BOOKS CLOSES ITS BOOKS CLOSES ITS BOOKS –––– AND BEGINS AND BEGINS AND BEGINS AND BEGINS

ANOTHER ROUNDANOTHER ROUNDANOTHER ROUNDANOTHER ROUND

Clara Grant and Christ Church

primary schools concluded their two-year participation in our

financial literacy programme at

the end of the Autumn term.

Clara Grant pupils were supported, throughout the

scheme, by volunteers from

City Livery Companies while

Christ Church children had representatives from Allen & Overy

and Deutsche Bank to help

them. The programme, which started when the children were in Year 5, comprised seven modules covering everything from managing the family budget and how banks work to profit and loss and foreign currency. There was also a visit to the Bank of England and a maths and motivation session from Mr. Numbevator. Funding for the initiative came from The Britannia Foundation and the Derek Shuttleworth Trust.

In addition, the initiative introduced the children to the concept of enterprise and they had a hands-on opportunity to put theory into practice by making and costing a range of greetings cards that they sold at their respective schools. Clara Grant pupils spent their final session on the 32nd floor of the Broadgate Tower, home to Reed Smith. The children gave presentations on how their ‘companies’ had set about their enterprise challenge and how much money they raised. The winning team, ‘Champions Wanted’, made a profit of £21.93 on their sales but the combined profit raised by the Clara Grant children was £94.69 that they voted to donate to the NSPCC. Adil, from ‘Champions Wanted’ said: “We could improve next time by making more cards aimed at children and increasing the price of our cards.”

Peter Rees from the Worshipful Company of Marketors, who worked with some of the Clara Grant students

over the two years, commented:

“I have been amazed at the aptitude of

the students, how quickly they have

picked things up and their enthusiasm

to learn.”

We are delighted to see the programme

repeated and extended in this financial

year with eight schools, including Clara

Grant and Christ Church, taking part.

Volunteers from Lloyds Community

Programme, Bank of America Merrill

Lynch, Travers Smith, and Dewey and

Leboeuf are among those who have

agreed to help.

A new website for the initiative, now

known as The BEE programme

(teaching business, enterprise and

employability in schools), has been

developed as part of the National

Number Partners Consortium. It

contains online training, steps on how

to set up a scheme and all of the

resources available for each session

available for download.

Peter Rees with some of the ‘amazing’ Clara Grant pupils

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LLOYD’S LAUNCHES SIXTH FORM LLOYD’S LAUNCHES SIXTH FORM LLOYD’S LAUNCHES SIXTH FORM LLOYD’S LAUNCHES SIXTH FORM

MENTORING AND UNI BURSARY SCHEMEMENTORING AND UNI BURSARY SCHEMEMENTORING AND UNI BURSARY SCHEMEMENTORING AND UNI BURSARY SCHEME

Sponsored by Lloyd’s Community Programme, and supported by the EBP, it matches Year 12 students (16/17 year-olds) with volunteer mentors from companies within the Lloyd’s insurance market. The pairings meet, on average, four times per term to support the young people as they undertake their Extended Project, a qualification which is equivalent to half an A-level and counts towards UCAS points for admission to university. The volunteers are also helping the students to prioritise their learning and career goals and act as positive role models to encourage progression to higher education. Lloyd’s has also announced a new funding scheme that will offer three promising Year 13 Cambridge Heath students a £3,000 per year bursary, over three years, if they secure and take up a university place outside London. This comes at a time when many students in low income families may be re-evaluating their decisions to attend university in the light of rising tuition fees and the withdrawal of the Education Maintenance Allowance. Speaking at the launch of the initiative in November, Nick Furlonge, Chairman of the Lloyd’s Community Programme said: “This is a first for us - our first university bursary scheme. The proviso is that the students have to go to university outside London, because we think that’s really important. We are very much looking forward to supporting the students with their studies and to helping them along their path to higher education.” Cambridge Heath Sixth Form College opened in September 2009 to serve Morpeth, Oaklands and Swanlea schools. Headteacher, Rebecca Coker-Adeleke welcomed the new mentoring initiative as a springboard for greater things. She said: “I was amazed when Lloyd’s came to us and offered to run this programme for a sixth form in its infancy. We are all really excited to have Lloyd’s to help move our students on to the next phase in their lives. I didn’t get any mentoring in the sixth form and I would have loved a brain to pick and someone to give me a bit of a push when I needed it. If the mentors can make our students feel valued, then that is what my ambition for this programme will be.” The Cambridge Heath students were invited to become part of the mentoring programme through a vigorous application

An exciting new mentoring and bursary scheme has been launched to support students at Cambridge

Heath Sixth Form College.

process. One of the successful applicants, Syed Hussain wrote on his submission: “I am always seeking innovative ways to study. I feel that the mentor will have priceless hints and tips that will help me with this. It is important that I study independently to attain the highest grades available at A-level.”

Syed, who already has 3A* and 8A grades at GCSE, wants to study medicine. His mentor is Andrew Horton, the CEO of specialist insurer, Beazley.

The first young people who will take advantage of the new bursaries will be Year 13 students at Cambridge Heath who will have secured offers of university places for the next academic year, or beyond, if they choose to take time out.

The deadline for applications is April. Candidates will be interviewed and shortlisted in July by a panel made up of Lloyd’s, Tower Hamlets EBP and Cambridge Heath Sixth Form College personnel. The successful recipients will be announced in August.

Nick Furlonge with one of the Cambridge Heath students

NEW ‘ECO’ PARTNERSHIP WITH LAKEHOUSE

Lakehouse Construction Company has embarked on an exciting new partnership with Bigland Green Primary School. The firm will support the School Council, comprised of pupils across all years groups, to become more eco-friendly. This will include setting up a new recycling area.

For more information about other Tower Hamlets EBP Tel: 020 7655 0300 Education Business Partnership Sunley House Fax: 020 7375 2323 activities please contact: Toynbee Hall Email: info@thebp.co.uk 28 Commercial Street www.thebp.org London E1 6LS

A Company Limited by Guarantee Registered Number: 02827835 Registered Charity Number: 1040962

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