Classroom to Boardroom

Just after Easter 2008, 100 ‘Young Gifted and Talented’ students (or potentially so) from schools in Croydon and Lambeth participated in a programme, ‘From Classroom to Boardroom’, at Trinity School in Croydon.

This was arranged with the support of the national ‘Young Gifted and Talented’ Programme, for which EiA is now an accredited supplier Such students demand extra activities to stretch and stimulate them and EiA and the programme wanted to test this out in London schools with a broad mix of students. The groups were set challenges by:

Croydon Police, on designing a fund raising event for the innovative Youth Justice Centre in Croydon, first of its sort in Europe. Year 12 students from John Ruskin College completed this with an immensely powerful presentation to the Borough Commander, who has asked to continue working with the group to put on the suggested events.

“I would highly encourage any organisation to support this programme. It does not just inspire the minds of young people but also the minds of my staff working alongside the young people”

- Mark Gore, Borough Commander Croydon Police

Lambeth Police on how to use new media to improve recruitment of ethnic minorities. Year 8 students from Lilian Baylis Technology School worked on this.

”This whole experience definitely highlights how young people generally perceive the organisation and how they feel they are able to communicate with or indeed influence the aims and objectives of the organisation”

- Paul Wilson, Lambeth Police

London Coaching Foundation on promoting careers in coaching. Year 7s from Stockwell Park School rose to this challenge. 

“Enterprise activities such as this business challenge show that young people are capable of meeting the challenge of solving problems but also eager to be engaged in this way of learning. There was not one young person who I spoke to who did not want to have more of this form of learning at school”

– Harold Flowerdew, Enterprise Learning Strategy Manager, Croydon