Foundation For Life

Foundation For Life: Preparing Our Pupils for a Brighter Future

King Edward’s is launching an exciting new careers programme for pupils. Head of Careers and Higher Education, Mrs Moira Davies explains how the scheme will work and how Old Witleians can help.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

This quote from Charles Dickens’ 'A Tale of Two Cities' could not be more relevant in this time of extreme uncertainty. The future world of work, already disrupted by the onset of technology and AI, has been further unsettled by the global interruption of COVID-19 and a possible recession. What does this mean for our pupils and how can we best support and prepare them for an uncertain and evolving labour market?

Our Founding Ethos As the Head of Careers, these questions have been uppermost in my mind as I prepare for the next academic year and the challenges it will bring. The solution lies in returning to the School’s founding ethos, providing a ‘Foundation For Life.’

Reviewing the history of the School and its ties to industry helped me realise we have indeed come full circle. The vision of the Founding Fathers is as relevant today as it was in 1553: education can transform lives and today's children are tomorrow's future.

No one can be certain what the future world of work will look like, but as educators we can strive to give our pupils the necessary experiences, skills, tools and resources that will prepare them to be relevant and adaptable in a skills-based labour market.

This is the thinking behind Foundation For Life (FFL). With support from Old Wits, we can help every pupil to shine.

A Journey to Excellence

FFL is a skills-based blended learning programme that offers pupils from 1 st Form to Upper Sixth insights into real world career opportunities and self-discovery modules and workshops. The aim is to take all our pupils on a journey to excellence and provide them with a foundation that allows them to develop life skills, critical thinking and leadership training.

Whilst the FFL programme will be available to all pupils, it will be especially supportive in celebrating our Foundation Pupils (formerly known as bursary pupils), giving them the skills and confidence to achieve their full potential.

Amongst other activities, Foundation For Life will include industry mentoring opportunities, work experience and a monthly in person/online SneakA-Peek Speaker Series that offers insights into careers, employability skills and current trends in the labour market.

Statistics show that alumni insights like these have a positive impact on pupils, helping them to learn from first-hand experiences.

How You Can Help We’re asking Old Witleians to support Foundation For Life by giving us the ‘Gift of Your Time’.

We’d like to invite you to share your experience of the working world by taking part in our Sneak-A-Peek Speaker Series consisting of in person and online talks. By sharing your business acumen, you will provide the foundation of discovery to support our pupils in making informed choices for their future. If you are able to contribute your expertise in any of the topics below, or if you can offer work experience or mentoring opportunities, we would love to hear from you.

FFL Programme Sneak-A-Peek Series Topics

· Careers in Healthcare (Nurses, Paramedics, Doctors and Dentists) · Applying to Oxbridge (application completion and interview prep) · How to Land a Job in Business and Finance · Creating a Stellar CV When You Have No Work Experience · How to Network Effectively · STEAM Careers (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths) · How Can Volunteering Help My Skill Set? · Careers in Law · Filmmaking · Psychology · Entrepreneurship

If you would like to suggest another topic or can offer something different to the Foundation For Life Programme, do get in touch. This is your gift to King Edward’s pupils - so your ideas are most welcome! Please complete the confidential ‘Gift of Your Time’ document or email Mrs Moira Davies at daviesm@kesw.org or Mrs Heidi Kitson at kitsonh@kesw.org to let us know how you can support the next generation.

Thank you for your support. We are excited to hear from you and hope you will join us on this journey to excellence through the Foundation for Life Programme.