Merchants’ Academy: Enterprise and Skills feature

The opening of a new Bristol school in September 2008 is set to redefine the way businesses and education work together.

EMPLOYERS from across Bristol are answering the call to get involved in one of the city’s newest schools.

Staff from more than 30 different companies will soon be working with students in one of Bristol’s most deprived areas to raise levels of academic achievement and boost aspirations for the future.

From September the new Merchants’ Academy in Withywood will welcome lawyers, financial services staff and others into a new school that puts enterprise and skills at the heart of the daily timetable.

Sponsored by the Society of Merchant Venturers and the University of Bristol, this is believed to be the first academy of enterprise and skills in the country. One of the first tasks will be to explain what that means. 

“It’s about passing on business skills such as decision making, communication and leadership in order to boost confidence, says Michelle Cook, the director of enterprise and skills at Merchants’ Academy. “But it’s also about broadening horizons for those young people. I think business provides a very positive role model – it’s good for young men and women to see people at work and to see what the opportunities for their own futures could be.”

Many of the businesses who have pledged to support Merchants’ Academy, which will operate independently of local authority control, are giving financial support. But, just as importantly, they are also giving their time and skills. Michelle said: “There is financial support but the major area of support is that people have put a lot of goodwill and time into the organisation.”

Volunteers from the businesses will be closely involved in helping to nurture a spirit of enterprise. That will initially happen through initiatives such as one-to-one and group mentoring, extended work experience, and numeracy and literacy coaching. But as time goes on that will be extended.

“I would like to see in two to three years time a situation where it is commonplace for schools to be going up and talking to business people and for business people to come in and be involved in all the lessons,” said Michelle.

“They will help us to show our students that they are not doing geography, for example, for the sake of it, but to show there are some key skills there that will be of real use in the future.”

Volunteers from law firm Burges Salmon, the Bank of Ireland and legal expenses company DAS are being trained by specialist consultancy Hanover Partnership to mentor stuudents at the new academy. Initially Year 11 students will be mentored, but in the future the scheme will extend to Year 10 students as well. 

Merchants’ Academy governor Margaret Speirs, who has worked to involve businesses with the school, says the scheme is about supporting individual students rather than simply giving help with homework.

“We’re initially training about 40 people to help students by equipping them to get more out of things such as work experience; it’s about life coaching skills.”

New kinds of work experience will be developed that aim to give students a real taste of the workplace. Long-term placements, which could see students spending up to two mornings a week for a term shadowing workers are among the possibilities currently being considered.

Five senior women executives from DAS Legal Expenses Insurance have volunteered to have individual students shadow them over a period of time.

Margaret said: “I think there would be a great benefit for girls in particular to get some insight into what it is like being a senior successful woman in the workplace.”

“It would be fantastic if we could enable every one of our young people to have a supportive professional relationship with people they can aspire to working with.”

Bristol University, co-sponsor of the new academy, will be offering work experience alongside other educational initiatives.

Younger students will also benefit. Numeracy and literacy ‘buddies’ will work initially with Year 7 students to make numbers and reading fun. In the medium-term, the scheme will be extended to include Year 8 students.

The Bank of Ireland will also continue the work it previously did with Withywood Community School, supporting the school’s personal and social teaching in areas from personal finance to macro-economics.

“We want to make sure we are delivering critical thinking skills to our young people in such a way that is appealing and educational,” said Michelle.

“We need to equip them with the skills they need in order to go out and be enterprising. There is a lot of room for work in the areas of self-esteem, communication and personal pride.”

And this is just a beginning. “We are very fortunate in that we have a lot of interest,” added Michelle. “I think the opportunities are huge. What we’re doing now is just the tip of the iceberg.”

This all represents a huge commitment to the area by some of Bristol’s leading employers. But both Michelle and Margaret believe the businesses will also stand to gain through giving to the community.

“I think businesses have a lot to learn from young people, about this generation,” said Michelle.

“I think businesses are going to have to go a long way in terms of their own problem-solving skills and communication in order to make this work for them and for the students. Their investment into the community will be valued and I believe their individual staff will get a lot of satisfaction from the progress of the young people.”

Margaret said: “Bank of Ireland’s previous experience is that their staff have gained in confidence in an area they wouldn’t have usually thought they could contribute.

“It is a great boost for your own self esteem and confidence in the workplace and I think Bank of Ireland feels it’s good for their staff to be doing something completely different and to be doing it successfully.

“Other firms are saying that their younger staff in particular want to feel they are contributing to the greater good of the community in some way.”

There is no mistaking that this is a radical new approach to the way businesses and education work together. But it is in the practice rather than the theory that this new school will prove itself in the years to come – and in the outcomes for its students.

Michelle said: “Ultimately, it’s about preparing those young people for making active and positive choices and leading fulfilling lives, in whatever capacity they see that.” 

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ISSUED BY BRANDON HILL COMMUNICATIONS ON BEHALF OF THE MERCHANTS' ACADEMY

For all media enquiries, please contact Ruth Jones on 0117 9339 511 or email ruth.jones@brandonhill.co.uk