THE REAL WORLD

RECENTLY The Times issued its interim report from its wide-ranging, year-long ‘Education Commission’. The commission, which sought opinions from education and business leaders, amongst others, concluded that reform of the education system could boost the UK economy by £125bn a year.

According to the Commercial Education Trust charity, almost three quarters of companies believe their profitability and productivity would rise by at least 25% if new recruits were better prepared for employment.

But what does this mean?

The world of work has changed dramatically over the last couple of years – the COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies to completely rethink how they do business and much of their operation has moved online. Restric tions may have come to an end, but big companies like Apple and Microsoft have embraced full time remote or hybrid working.

This is a world which, un fortunately, most people leaving school or university over the past few years have

Leading online independent school Minerva’s Virtual Academy, is changing how the education system works to better prepare students for the world of work

been woefully underprepared for. Yes, they know more about computers and technology than we ever did, but that is a world away from having the skills to interact with new colleagues who you never, or seldom, meet in person.

That was one of the drivers behind the launch of Minerva’s Virtual Academy. It is the perfect school for modern times – combining smart technology and engaging online resources with one-to-one support, active group learning and multi-disciplinary projects.

The online academy offers pupils the flexibility to learn from the comfort of their home, anywhere in the world, while ensuring they develop the social skills required to live fulfilling lives and succeed in the workplaces of the future.

Minerva has changed the way it approaches education and headmaster Laurence Tubb believes its programme is attractive to modern employers.

Pupils’ timeta- bles don’t look anything like the traditional school timetable, but rather resemble a work week calendar. Why? Because 70% of the time Minerva’s pupils self-study on the platform with only 30% spent with teachers in ‘normal’ lessons.

This automatically gives the pupils set deadlines to complete sections of work.

A calendar of deadlines is very different to a calendar of lessons that pupils have to turn up to without any prior preparation, which is what you see in mainstream schools. The academy’s pupils learn to manage their own time to meet these deadlines – and Minerva helps them do this with a dedicated personal mentoring programme. They are taught study skills which will benefit them for years to come – not just revision hacks. The flexibility and mentoring offered by Minerva means that particularly bright pupils have the freedom and support to explore areas of interest