We are very proud of the work our schools do with local state schools, and last week's inaugural Ready2lead conference was a superb example of collaboration between the sectors, and one which we were delighted to be able to support as an advocate of youth leadership for many years.
The conference took place on Wednesday, 2 October at Bedford School and was attended by Year 12 students from 8 schools and colleges across the borough.
This exciting first for the town was the brainchild of Bedford School teacher Simon Everitt who came up with the idea whilst taking our inhouse Inspiring Leaders Programme, a year long course which now has ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) accreditation. The programme is designed for staff who are already in leadership roles, or who aspire to become leaders.
Simon (pictured right) set about bringing his idea to life by creating a working party of students and staff from Bedford School, Bedford Girls' School, Bedford Modern School, Mark Rutherford Upper School, and members of the team here at the Harpur Trust office who then brought in Uprising (a national youth leadership development organisation, recognised at Government-level as a pioneering charity championing the critical issues surrounding diversity, social mobility and equality).
Over a period of months, the group put together a diverse programme of practical workshops and seminars led by an exciting line up of experts, focussing on all aspects of leadership. The conference was designed under the premise that everyone can find the leader within them, by harnessing the passion they feel for a cause.
In the words of Jamie Bridge (pictured below), who gave the keynote address at the conference, "Being a leader doesn't just mean being the head of an organisation, but being a credible advocate for those without a voice".
The Harpur Trust covered much of the cost of the conference to ensure that every state school with a year 12 cohort could particpate free of charge. We have a long history of supporting schools through grantfunding and through our sponsorship of the HEART Academies Trust. But as an organisation, we are also advocates for youth leadership and we were responsible for first introducing Uprising to Bedford over 10 years ago.
CEO of the Trust, David Steadman said "As a charity we are always looking for ways to support education in Bedford in collaboration with local schools, and to create opportunities for Bedford’s young people whatever their background. Ready2Lead? has been particularly exciting because it enabled teachers and young people to work together on a project which helps young people of all backgrounds to develop the knowledge and skills they need to lead others. We are delighted that this year's conference has been such a success, and we hope that it will continue to develop and evolve, and support Bedford's young people for many years to come.”