Businessman teaches school girls to think like an entrepreneur

8 July 2010

Rod Aldridge visits Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls in Hackney

A leading entrepreneur who founded one of the biggest professional services companies in the country returned to the classroom to inspire the next generation of business people. Rod Aldridge was a special guest teacher this week (July 6 2010) at Skinners’ Company’s School for Girls in Hackney.

Rod, who was the entrepreneurial founder of the Capita Group in 1984, delivered his teaching placement in Year 10’s GCSE business studies lesson. Rod’s participation in the lesson was part of a Teach First initiative to encourage high-flyers from all industries to give something back to the next generation.

Rod accompanied business studies teacher Hannah Potter, who is in the second year of Teach First’s Leadership Development programme that places exceptional graduates into challenging schools.

Rod’s lesson looked at taxation by inviting the 14-strong group to think about the impact of the Budget and the new 20% VAT rate both on the economy and on their own lives and household budget. He focused on the role of entrepreneurship in providing opportunities for personal and economic growth, and quizzed the students on their own plans for the future, encouraging them to raise their academic attainment and keep an open mind when exploring their careers.

Rod also spoke to the class about his career and how he is now focusing on his charitable foundation, which aims to create lasting social change for young people and their communities. 

Rod said: “The students were very impressive and clearly have motivation and a willingness to learn, and very entrepreneurial thought processes.  If they take away the message that they can succeed by applying an entrepreneurial mindset to their lives, then I will feel the session was hugely worthwhile.  My Foundation believes that entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business, but is about determination, creativity, team-working and passion – deciding to succeed in life and making it happen.”

Hannah said: “As a business and enterprise specialist school we always welcome the input of experts from the business world.  The girls were looking forward to hearing about his inspiring business successes as well as his move into education via The Aldridge Foundation.  They have certainly been motivated to aim higher in their studies and careers in the future and Rod’s motto “nothing is impossible” really struck a chord with them.”

Teach First has placed more than 40 key figures including  Dame Vivienne Westwood, BBC newscaster Huw Edwards and The Apprentice’s Tim Campbell in schools around the country.

Others guests who have taken up the challenge include Patrick Flaherty, Managing Director of the Investment Banking Division at Credit Suisse, Today Programme presenter Justin Webb, and Channel 4 News' Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Samira Ahmed.

Notes to editors

For media enquiries please contact Teach First press officer Anie Keshishian, tel: 020 3117 2469 and email akeshishian@teachfirst.org.uk.

Teach First

Teach First's mission is to address educational disadvantage by transforming exceptional graduates into effective, inspirational teachers and leaders in all fields. Teach First targets graduates who would not normally consider a career in teaching and places them in challenging schools – where:

1. More than 50% of their pupils from deprived backgrounds according to the respected IDACI index of childhood deprivation, thereby more accurately prioritising those schools with higher levels of deprivation.
   
   And/or
   
   
2. Schools with the lowest levels of attainment in regards to the 5+ A*-C measure – i.e. schools whose results fall in the lowest third of the national distribution.

In 2009, Teach First placed close to 500 graduates in teaching positions, making it the 5th largest recruiter of graduates in the UK. It hopes to place over 650 graduates in 2010 and as many as 850 by 2012.

Since launching in 2002, Teach First has placed increasing numbers of participants in schools each year – 560 entered the programme in June 2010, more than double the  265 in 2005 – and has developed an ambassador community (alumni) of over 1,200, working to improve educational, and life, outcomes for hundreds of thousands of children today.

Teach First is raising the quality and profile of the teaching profession and has made teaching in a challenging school one of the most prestigious options for top graduates. Teach First is now rated number seven in the Times Top 100 Graduate Recruiters and interest in the programme continues to grow amongst top graduates, with the number of applicants rising from 3,000 in 2009 (with 22% of applicants accepted to the programme) to around 5,000 this year (with 15% accepted).

In 2009, Teach First gained 8th place on the coveted league of Times Top 100 Graduate Employers.

For more information, visit www.teachfirst.org.uk