London City Airport hosts celebration of education programme completion
On 12th July, London City Airport hosted a celebration of Runway to Success, an education programme designed to give young people in Royal Greenwich the best possible start to their future beyond school. Since its start in February, Runway to Success has benefited approximately 600 Greenwich students aged between 12 and 18 and involved around 140 business volunteers. Runway to Success was delivered by Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership (THEBP) in partnership with London City Airport and the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
Students from John Roan School, Woolwich Polytechnic School, Plumstead Manor School, Thomas Tallis School, and Corelli College took part in the one-day conferences delivered by THEBP, which covered employability skills, enterprise and financial literacy, and interview skills. As well as increasing confidence, knowledge and skills, the programme aimed to encourage students to continue their education and secure sustainable employment.
Commenting on their involvement in the programme, Mr Plumb, Co-Head teacher at Woolwich Poly said, “Runway to Success is a fabulous opportunity to further develop those employability skills, which help create our future leaders. The programme extends learning by going beyond the classroom to give the students a taster for real life working contexts. The experience students gain from these types of activities is invaluable and we hope they will continue.”
As a fitting conclusion, students spent the morning at London City Airport on 12th July, receiving a tour and learning about the airport’s past, present and future, as well as career opportunities there. They also took part in a Dragons Den style activity, pitching their ideas for a new airline to London City Airport staff.
Fabienne Gress, Senior Corporate Responsibility Executive at London City Airport, said:
“Runway to Success has provided hundreds of Greenwich secondary pupils with an opportunity to consider their next steps at a formative stage of their lives. The pupils we’ve met have demonstrated great ambition, intelligence, and enthusiasm, and we hope it’s helped open their eyes to the breadth of options available to them, as they prepare for the next stage of their education, or the world of work.
These conferences and workshops have been part of London City Airport’s wide-ranging educational programme which engages thousands of young East Londoners each year, and it’s been a pleasure to work with the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Tower Hamlets EBP to deliver this project.”
Director of Tower Hamlets EBP, Helen Sanson, remarked on the success of the partnership:
“We are thrilled that Runway to Success has been a hit with all involved, and I would like to thank London City Airport for generously putting on this celebration. Having been delivering education programmes in Tower Hamlets for over 25 years to help young people learn more, do more and become more, we are ideally positioned to help other boroughs. Partnering with organisations of all kinds to help make a difference in local communities is our ethos, and Runway to Success is a great example of what can be achieved when we work together. We are actively looking for business partners to help us roll out the programme in Royal Greenwich schools on a long-term basis, with a view to building lasting relationships between schools and businesses, increasing social mobility in the borough.”
Runway to Success was also supported by Sir William Boreman’s Foundation and the Big Potential. Funding from these organisations has made it possible to deliver the programme to even more students.
Organisations interested in becoming involved in programmes such as Runway to Success should contact:
Rebecca Wood
Business Development Manager
Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership
Direct Tel: 020 7655 0351
Editorial Enquiries:
Laura French on behalf of Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership
Email: laura@sugruecomms.com
Tel: 07796 173940
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