19th April 2023

Enfield Grammar School Employability Day in Enfield, 30 March

In March Enfield Grammar School hosted an extraordinary day for its pupils.

Roughly 500 young people, aged 14 to 19, in Enfield Grammar School in the north London borough of Enfield, had the opportunity to gain invaluable information, advice and guidance from a team of eighteen professionals from the modern Black community and a similar number of employers, at the first Employability Day held in the School, on 30 March 2023.

The Employability Day was an innovative event at the School and it was organised by Reach Society at the invitation of the head teacher, Mr Chris Lamb, who wanted to provide all pupils with the opportunity to develop their awareness of future pathways beyond school; and to inspire them to get into the habit of exploring and making discoveries which they can then use to make a success of their lives.

The pupils experienced two themed workshops. One was led by Krystal Alliance and the other by Lloyds Bank. They also had extensive access to a panel of 6 Black professionals which included Dr Keith Davidson a retired director of education and founder of KAD Publishing; Michael Fuller a music industry lawyer; Mark Lomas head of culture in Lloyd’s of London; Ritchie Neil a senior commercial executive in Salesforce; Nathaniel Peat the founder and CEO of Safety Box; and Professor Donald Palmer a senior lecturer and research leader in the Royal Veterinary College and co-founder of Reach Society.

Across the event pupils were free to interact with a cohort of exhibitors which were drawn from all three sectors of employment namely the private, public and voluntary. The firms involved were: the African Caribbean Insurance Network or ACIN; Alpha BSE Training, Arup UK, the British Army, Durham University, Enfield Borough Council, Life Radio UK, Lockton Companies, Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyd’s of London, Metro Bank, Marsh McLennan or MMC; the RAF, Reach Society, Sompo International and Willis Towers Watson or WTW.

Mr Chris Lamb, head teacher of Enfield Grammar School, said: “I was so proud of the many questions raised by the boys with the panel of experts, the many exhibitors, and the volunteer role models. I hope that the observers from local schools in the borough had a ringside seat of an extraordinary event that could also impact the pupils in their schools. I am also most grateful to the team from Reach Society for hosting this event in the School.”

Dr Dwain Neil OBE, chairman of Reach Society, said: “The whole point of today’s Employability Day is to demonstrate that the model of inspirational events pioneered by the Society since 2010 could be tailored for delivery in large secondary schools like Enfield Grammar. The head teacher, Mr Chris Lamb, deserves credit for his vision and desire to provide all pupils with enriching and inspirational experiences.”

Reach Society was founded as a social enterprise in 2010 to encourage, motivate and inspire young people, especially those from the Black community, to raise their educational attainment through increased contact with diverse role models and employers in several sectors of employment.

Dr Dwain Neil OBE FRSA