Sixth Formers learn from entrepreneur at Learning Lunch

On Monday Sixth Formers enjoyed a Learning Lunch with inspirational entrepreneur and previous Prize Giving speaker Jo Cruse. Jo spoke about her fascinating journey, from studying PPE to becoming Chief of Staff of the opposition part in South Africa, before becoming a teacher and finally an entrepreneur. She emphasised that women leaders don't need to be a certain 'type' of person to become an entrepreneur. The girls were really interested to hear the exciting, as well as the challenging aspects of being an entrepreneur.

Jo then held a workshop with all academic scholars in Years 8 to 10. Jo tackled the issue of female leadership and in particular the importance of oracy and public speaking in the workplace. As part of the workshop, the girls were given a very short time to prepare a one minute presentation on somebody who has inspired them which they then presented to the group. This was intentionally designed to take them out of their comfort zone and to become comfortable in presenting something they had not been able to prepare or practise in great detail. The girls were then paired with someone from a different year group and asked to give constructive criticism and praise to each other about their presentation style. The girls all commented on how the workshop has changed their view of leadership and made them more confident in taking risks in the future.