Raising Aspirations, a day at the London Stock Exchange Group
News article from June 28, 2019
Raising Aspirations … it’s all about how they feel
School-Home Support (SHS) is LSEG’s UK charity partner, our work ensures disadvantaged young people have the support they need to succeed at school. Poverty, poor housing and low aspirations are some of the barriers to learning SHS tackle; working with them to broaden horizons and show young people what a career in the city looks like is one of the key activities created by LSEG and SHS.
Natasha Van Abbe, SHS’s charity champion at the London Stock Exchange Group talks about an aspiration she ran with young people.
I’ve been delighted to take on the role of SHS’s charity champion, having been involved as a volunteer previously with primary school children, I was really keen to work with SHS and plan an aspiration session with young people who particularly need our help.
We were delighted to welcome a group of young men and women into PSQ last Friday. All of whom are working to get back into mainstream school after a period of exclusion. Whilst we don’t know any details about the young people’s backgrounds, we know they have challenging home lives and we’re aware that they are taught in a specialist unit that provides them (and their families) with intensive support.
SHS’s project works with these young people and their families to improve parenting outcomes, school attendance and parental engagement in children’s learning. Exclusion from mainstream school, is a serious issue, one that jeopardises educational outcomes and future prospects. It’s encouraging to understand that, with support, many of the young people supported through this project make it back to mainstream education.
It was wonderful to have Chris Corrado involved for the morning, and as Chris opened up the session we could see the young people beginning to relax and engage. An interesting insight into Chris’s journey had all of us – young people and LSEG volunteers alike – listening hard, his encouragement to “ask lots of questions” was certainly taken up by young people. The rest of the day was structured with young people undertaking mock interviews and getting feedback from staff. They also had a tour of PSQ and interviewed staff involved in their career journeys.
“Our day spent with the London Stock Exchange Group is a perfect example of what our young people can achieve and the level of professionalism that they should aspire to. These are the opportunities that close the gaps that prevent many from unleashing their true potential. We are very grateful to all those at LSEG who have partaken in this event and hope to bring more of our young people to have this very prestigious opportunity.” Olsen Thomas, science teacher
It was hugely motivating to see young people so engaged and throughout the day they opened up more and more, behaved impeccably, felt proud of themselves and clearly the environment and engagement of LSEG had a very positive impact. We’d love to have them back!
“Everyone inspired me to be my best, I’ve met new people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries” TF aged 14
“Today I have learnt that when I go into an interview I know how to explain my weaknesses and show how I will overcome them. I have a better outlook of going to new places and meeting new people after today.“ XD, aged 15 years
“I have really enjoyed today as I have learnt something new, yesterday I didn’t know this building existed, I think I will continue learning about the stock exchange and I will develop my own ideas.” AM aged 14 years.
“Today made me feel like I want to pursue a career in the stock exchange.” AD aged 14 years
A big thanks to everyone who got involved. A really motivating day for all of us.
“I always like the challenge of seeming relevant to the younger generation and explaining what I do. I really liked the way that kids opened up throughout the day. Giving them the opportunity to talk about their own aspirations. A lot of budding entrepreneurs out there!”Lucie Holloway
“I’m delighted to see us working with SHS and it was inspiring to learn what we are collectively aiming to achieve. I feel lucky to have had the experiences I’ve had over the years and to share that with a captive audience!” Chris Corrado
“Many of them have been told that they will never succeed in life, therefore it was wonderful to be able to provide some hope and a few keywords of encouragement. I look forward to seeing many of them develop their businesses and maybe one day listing on the London Stock Exchange!” Nafetti senior
LSEG volunteers included Nana Frempong, Tanvir Nazamuddin, Lucie Holloway, Neil Escalante, Michael Ajose, Nafetti Senior, and Chris Corrado.