On February 4, David Nieper Academy was delighted to receive a visit from Alison Rose, CEO of NatWest, along with Paul Thwaite, CEO of Commercial Banking at NatWest. 

During the morning, Entrepreneurial Leaders held an inspiring Dream Bigger workshop with the academy’s Sixth Form students. The programme is tailored to equip 16–18-year-olds with entrepreneurial skills and aims to increase the number of females starting their own businesses. 

Demonstrating how a growth mindset can help them delve into what they may normally avoid, students took part in various activities throughout the morning. Sean and Faye were both very engaging with the students, inspiring many to think more about becoming entrepreneurs and using a growth mindset. 

The academy was then joined by Alison and Paul who gave a captivating talk on their careers to Year 10 and Sixth Form students. Encouraging students to grasp opportunities, both in the academy and in their future careers, Alison and Paul explained how their choices had led them to work in different sectors all over the world.

Students thoroughly enjoyed learning more about both guests and were honoured to have the opportunity to discuss matters such as global warming’s effect on investing in businesses.

Alison and Paul also conveyed the importance of teamwork, good leadership and finding a company that supports growth and training. Students were thrilled at the opportunity to pose questions to Alison and Paul: the session allowed for interesting discussions which will continue into students’ learning.

David Nieper Academy was delighted to have had Alison and Paul visit for the day; the inspiring visit complemented the academy’s emphasis on developing employability skills in their students and the benefits of the visit will continue to be seen throughout the curriculum.

Dr Kathryn Hobbs, Headteacher at David Nieper Academy, said “It was fascinating to hear from Alison and Paul, and learn about their career journeys. As many of our pupils are beginning to think about their future careers and the wider working world, we want to ensure they have as many opportunities as possible to learn about different career paths. We thank Alison and Paul for visiting our academy.”