Can more Fellows drive ambition?

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has underlined the need for business to become more involved in education. Peter Jordon FRSA argues that the Driving Ambition initiative does just that: it encourages young people to aspire to the educational paths or careers they might not have known existed in business and nurtures the skills they need to take their place in society.

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has underlined the need for business to become more involved in education. Peter Jordon FRSA argues that the Driving Ambition initiative does just that: it encourages young people to aspire to the educational paths or careers they might not have known existed in business and nurtures the skills they need to take their place in society.

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”

Nelson Mandela

Driving Ambition has come to exemplify the principles underpinning the RSA academies and many of the features of new ways of learning currently showcased by the Society’s education events. These are concerned with improving teaching and learning through purposeful partnerships, enabling learners to achieve a broad range of skills in a spirit of open-minded enquiry. The RSA Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for these priorities to be achieved by connecting teachers and learners to people, places and issues beyond the school gate.

Managed by the RSA North Oxfordshire Group, Driving Ambition started in 2011 when a group of Fellows decided they should start a project that would benefit the local community. Two local schools expressed an interest in working with us, to help raise the level of ambition amongst their pupils. At the launch event in May 2012, our keynote speaker, local MP and RSA Fellow, Sir Tony Baldry referred to a “mutuality of interests”, where pupils could learn from industry and industry could learn from pupils. This in reality is what has been happening. From a practitioner perspective, Anna Willett, Faculty Director Business Studies at the North Oxfordshire Academy (NOA), talks of her pupils really benefitting from having someone different in the classroom, with specialist knowledge and industry experience.  Businesses also see the benefits.  Maxine Cameron, Director at brand marketing consultancy New Tradition, said: “It gives us access to a generation we wouldn’t necessarily always have access to.  They have a different way of thinking about things, which helps to open our minds a little bit and helps us think differently”.

Benefits to students are wide-ranging. One example is Daniel Pearson from NOA.  At 17, Daniel had limited experience of speaking to an adult audience so lacked confidence.  Working with his RSA Mentor, he developed the confidence to engage his audience when invited to speak at the Career Academy Training Conference.

Staff members at NOA have a strong sense of how external providers can make a powerful contribution to innovative learning. An RSA Fellow engaged the Arts Coordinator for the local hospital trust in a project involving sixth form art students creating work with a local theme for the walls of the day care centre for the elderly.

Fellows with business expertise and connections have brought curriculum benefit. One Fellow with over 35-years experience in the food industry, spent time in the classroom discussing all aspects of the supply chain. These lessons coincided with the curriculum work on drawing up business plans for a small start up business. Professional engineers from National Grid engaged students in practical exercises, workshops and games based on real engineering challenges. Topics included looking at the sustainable future for energy; planning a gas supply for a town, and practical, competitive games such as model rocket making. A local vicar (who is also an RSA Fellow) helped develop and deliver curriculum content on ethical issues by providing real-world case studies relating to GCSE students’ study of ethics. An unanticipated spin-off benefit has been that two of the Fellows who have been involved with Driving Ambition have now become school governors and this will undoubtedly facilitate an understanding of where local schools’ priorities lie and where Fellows’ support can have maximum benefit.

There are many examples of where working with the local schools both in mentoring and project work is paying dividends, one of the most recent and ambitious was in helping to create Banbury Literary Live. Given the emphasis on reading at all ages in our schools, this event was a joint venture between the NOA and the local RSA Driving Ambition team. It was aimed at all levels from infants to parents, with the aim of increasing awareness of books and reading for the whole family. Raising levels of literacy is a long-term goal and planning for the event this year is currently underway.

So what next?  In addition to continuing many of our activities, we will be taking on a new and exciting venture: mentoring a selection of NOA students in advance of their applying for Oxbridge or Russell Group Universities. The NOA staff are aware that their students do not necessarily have all the skills and support that can often be offered to non-state school applicants to these universities and have asked if we could help readdress this balance between private and state educated students.

When we set out, our launch event in 2012 had four locals schools represented. We are now working with one school only, NOA. Why is this? In many cases it is not a lack of enthusiasm of the staff, it is to do with leadership, commitment and the ability to make ‘time in the day’ to support these activities. We have also learnt that there is a diverse range of skills amongst local Fellows, which means that we can tailor activities to meet the requirements of the schools; the RSA Fellows do not drive the agenda.

Our major learning is how much fun this can be and how rewarding it is to share your skills with the next generation. The Driving Ambition concept is readily adaptable and portable to other parts of the country and we would encourage Fellows in other regions to consider whether this, or something similar, would be a useful vehicle through which to channel their involvement in local education.

Driving Ambition is a project that requires a school that wants to give pupils a chance to learn from outside practitioners and Fellows who are prepared to give some of their time to meeting these needs. It can work anywhere. More details on the project can be found in the RSA sponsored video. If you would like some help getting started please email Peter Jordan FRSA at [email protected]

Peter Jordon FRSA runs his own consultancy business after 35 years working in the food industry within the IT and supply chain areas. He was a senior figure in a number of local and global industry and standards bodies. He has been a Fellow for 14 years and has been working on the Driving Ambition project since it started.