As London heads back to school, here’s how the City is kickstarting careers

It’s back to school for students across the country. A new term is always an exciting prospect; pupils and teachers return with renewed energy and a readiness to learn and teach.

Last month, the City of London Corporation, which sponsors 10 academies in London, was named by the Sutton Trust as the best UK academy sponsor for a second year running for its work supporting pupils from low-income families to achieve top grades.

The social mobility charity report, Chain Effects 2018, looks at the impact of academy chains on the progress of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. It ranks the City of London Corporation’s sponsored academies as the top performing schools in the country in terms of attainment and progress at GCSE level.

The five-year analysis explored how disadvantaged pupils, who have fallen behind at primary schools, make more progress by GCSE stage in sponsored academy chains compared to other types of school.

The City of London Corporation was one of three sponsors judged as consistently high-achieving, and was also identified as the best sponsor in the country in 2016 and 2017 for overall performance.

As a former chair of our academies trust and of one of our academies, this is something that I am extremely proud of.

We are committed to providing access to world-class education and learning opportunities for the capital’s students, and aim to ensure that young Londoners have the information, advice, skills and experiences that will help them to progress into fulfilling careers, building an effective and diverse future workforce.

As a result, a new programme helping computer science students into jobs with London tech startups has been announced. The scheme will be funded by the City of London Corporation and delivered by startup experts Capital Enterprise, a body of connectors, influencers, investors and policymakers, who together collaborate to serve London’s tech startup ecosystem.

The funds will match 40 postgraduate and undergraduate students in London to digital business roles for up to 12 weeks – with all placements paid the London Living Wage. The initiative aims to enhance student skills, and employability and provide a boost to businesses and universities.

We recognise the huge potential benefits in supporting digital skills for all our communities in London, whether in creating jobs, improving skills, or raising awareness of efforts to move towards greater financial and social inclusion.

Working together, we will make sure that London maintains its position as the global hub for fintech and for businesses.

This new programme will help the capital’s firms, universities and students by adding fresh talent while boosting productivity.

We are proud to be recognised for our work supporting students from some of the capital’s most disadvantaged backgrounds, and helping them to unlock their potential. We aim to ensure that young Londoners are empowered to make a positive contribution to their communities.

With that in mind, I wish each and every student, teacher and member of support staff a very happy new year and all the best for the term.