On Wednesday 10th February, we were delighted to bring together Future Frontiers trustees, leadership team, former pupils and supporters for an afternoon of discussion and learning about how we can support young people to prepare for life-changing transitions in their education.
The Education Policy Institute’s 2020 report highlighted that the achievement gap has stopped closing for the first time in a decade. There are warnings that with the ongoing school closures and educational disruption this picture is set to continue, or even get worse. The unemployment rate among 16-24 year olds is also up (14% higher than pre-pandemic levels).
The young people we work with are already less likely to access the opportunities, guidance and networks they need to navigate these reduced and competitive education and job markets. It has therefore never been more important to get alongside young people to empower them to identify and reach a future they are inspired by.
With this in mind, last week we brought together Head Teacher, Raza Ali, Future Frontiers alumni pupils, Shakirah and Thomas and former volunteer coaches Deborah Dalgleish (formerly of Ashurst LLP) and Jodie McMonagle (from James Hambro & Partners), and a number of Future Frontiers supporters and partners for a virtual discussion.
Across an hour we covered the current challenges, but more importantly the current opportunities, in supporting young people to take steps to make successful transitions when leaving school at 16 and 18.
As Head Teacher Raza Ali so clearly put it, “Future Frontiers is needed and it’s needed now. The pandemic has widened inequality within our society. And that’s certainly most evident when you actually come to schools or focus on young people. But with a combination of positivity, encouragement and supporting pupils to make clear plans then we have a chance of turning this around ”.
You can watch the full event below:
Don't have time for the full event? You can watch a 2 minute highlights reel below:
If you have any questions or comments about the event, our work or how you can get involved, we would love to hear from you. Do contact Tess at troberts@futurefrontiers.org.uk.
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