Former Lord Mayor Of The City Of London To Open New Business And Finance Centre At King Edward’s Witley
Bringing the cut and thrust of city life into the School …
Alderman Sir David Wootton, Lord Mayor of the City of London in HM The Queen’s Jubilee Year and Vice President of Bridewell Royal Hospital, officially opened a brand new Business and Finance Centre at King Edward’s Witley on Thursday 25th September 2014.
The launch of the Business and Finance Centre marks the arrival of an innovative resource designed for pupils following Economics and Business Studies options at the School. It will be used primarily by those studying at IB / A-level but will also be pivotal to the introduction of financial and business education throughout the School. The latest stage in a multi-million pound investment into the School’s facilities, the Business and Finance Centre, which was solely funded by the School, provides a learning environment which mirrors the business world rather than a school classroom.
Work was completed on the Business and Finance Centre in time for the start of term and follows the conversion of the top floor of an existing teaching block, transforming it into a state of the art business centre. Key features include a boardroom which seats 24 with full conferencing facilities and multi media screens; two glass-walled meeting rooms (seating 16) that can be opened up to create a further large meeting room also incorporating conferencing and projection facilities, and a departmental office that can also function as a breakout room.
Pupils studying for the IB, IGCSE Economics and Business Studies and – from January 2015 – the new A-levels, will take all their lessons in the new Centre, where they can work in teams and video conference with partner schools worldwide. Longer-term, a financial education curriculum will be extended to all pupils. In addition, Investor Clubs, Young Enterprise and other financial / careers focused education will be based in the Business and Finance Centre and the School has future plans to share the resource with other schools and the wider community.
Commenting on the opening of the Business and Finance Centre, the Headmaster, John Attwater, says “We are delighted to be honoured with Sir David Wootton’s presence today. As a leading figure in the City, but also Vice President of Bridewell Royal Hospital, which is the School’s parent foundation, it is particularly fitting that Sir David is here to witness the next exciting development in King Edward’s Witley‘s rich history. The new Business and Finance Centre is a strong reminder of the School’s celebrated links with the City of London, which stretch back to our foundation 460 years ago. We intend to build upon our City heritage, along with our excellent network of contacts in the world of business and finance, to evolve as a centre of excellence for business education. Effectively, we want to introduce a little bit of the buzz of the modern Square Mile into school life to help our pupils prepare for the increasingly competitive world of work that awaits them when they leave King Edward’s.”
Although the facility will initially be known as the Business and Finance Centre, branding opportunities are available for businesses / individual sponsors who recognise the potential associated with being aligned with the School’s visionary approach to business and financial education.
For more information about King Edward’s Witley, please visit www.kesw.org