This term, Year 12 Business students are attending talks and presentations from leading industry experts. The purpose of these guest visits is to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and develop important skills to help them along this journey.
Where possible, the Business Department invites former Shiplake pupils in to conduct the presentations. This was the case on Friday 7 November as Jeremy Blake, now an entrepreneur from Reality Training, returned to the school he left in 1990. For well over a decade, Jeremy and his team at Reality Training have delivered exceptional sales, management and customer service training programmes. Jeremy is well accustomed to sharing his expertise with enthusiastic young students, as he also works as a lecturer at Buckingham University.
Jeremy began his presentation by asking the question “do we think faster than we speak?” The students then received training in soft skills and presenting, to prepare them not only for their upcoming coursework portfolio work but also for the real world of business. This is one major strength of the BTEC Business course, as students are able to apply their learning directly in practical ways.
Training expert Jeremy believes that presentations need to take the ‘CADA’ approach, which stands for credible, advantages, details and action. Students clearly took note of this, impressing Jeremy with their presentation skills throughout the session. This led the Old Viking to predict that many of this year’s business cohort will go on to enjoy successful careers in industry.
On the following day, the Year 12 group attended a presentation from 23 year old entrepreneur Liam Peak. The young role model talked to the students about his very own Photo Booth business. The concept has recently experienced a huge surge in popularity at events such as weddings, parties and corporate conferences. Liam’s talk inspired students and reinforced the message that anything is possible. It left many pupils with ambitions to have achieved a similar success story in five years time.
