As seen in All Things Business Milton Keynes
Preparing students with the skills and mindset for the modern workplace is one of The Webber Independent School’s top priorities. We have developed a robust Business & Enterprise Programme that includes access to ED Talks, career fairs, business conferences and Go To Work With An Adult Day, in addition to a one-week work experience placement and longer internship opportunities.
This academic year, our students dedicated 346 hours of voluntary work through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (an over-achievement of 20% compared to other schools), raised just under £2,000 for local charity Harry’s Rainbow and SOFEA through their £1 GCSE Business Challenge (A Dragons’ Den-style business event) and hosted a careers evening for students and parents to meet and discuss fantastic and unusual inspirational careers with successful Friends of The Webber Independent School (FOWIS) partners.
Head of Business, Mrs Charlton said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the Mayor and Mayoress of Milton Keynes to the school to interview, and later award our Business students for their entrepreneurial businesses. The students had just £1 each to start a business, it took a lot of hard work looking at marketing, customer fields, landscapes, and branding, but every year our students succeed and surprise us with such creative innovation.”
FOWIS is a group of dedicated parents and partnerships, including parent and published international author Vikki Marmaras, that supports both the school and its students in successful events designed to raise opportunities and expectations for exciting new challenges, creating a pathway for future creators. Every year, we look to recruit new members to bring fresh enthusiasm and experience to the team, please contact Mrs Marsden for more information on joining the FOWIS team.
At The Webber we further support our young people through the development of its Digital Portfolio and Letters of Application, as well as honing their interview skills to ensure applicants have the ‘Webber edge’ when they go to their first-choice post-16 destinations. With a vast number of clubs and societies designed to help build leadership and business skills, including the Young Entrepreneur’s Club, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, and The Army Cadet Force, the students are sure to succeed.
Headmistress Hilary Marsden proudly tells us “All Webber students have many opportunities to succeed, both at The Webber and in extended learning beyond school. I am overjoyed that many of our previous students have gone on to pioneering studies, business start-ups, and top universities following career paths such as lawyers, film designers, and football scholarships with Tottenham Hotspur FC, all of which I firmly believe started here at The Webber with our Business and Enterprise Programme. We put innovation at the heart and underpin the curriculum with real-world learning, providing the ideal place for your child to build their future.”
Webber hosts a Work-Related Learning Specialist Team who are on hand to help every child stand out from the crowd; supporting with interview practice, work experience, career pathway guidance, and a Headmistress’s Letters of Recommendation.
The focus is on giving all our Senior School students the opportunity to access leading resources to help them build their skills and knowledge around the types of careers and further study options that are available. In the past, Webber students have benefited from National Career Fairs, work experience and internships, ED Talks in partnership with both local and global employers including Santander, Network Rail, Red Bull Racing, the NHS, and many more.
Last term, GCSE Year 10 Business students and some fellow Year 9 students attended Cadbury World where they were able to see how the factory operates and engage in an educational talk about marketing and product development. This real-world example helped to enrich their knowledge of GCSE AQA Business.
In the rapidly changing employment landscape, we are confident this gives our wonderful Webber students transferable skills that really allow them to become life’s painters, makers and shapers, innovators, game changers, and future creators!
