Ralph Braithwaite from Runway Training visited our year 9, 12 and 13 business and enterprise learners to deliver interactive masterclasses on presentation (year 9 and 12) and interview skills (year 13).

Runway Training, part of the L&Q foundation, runs ‘Learning to Succeed’ programmes focused on wellbeing, STEM and careers. Their mission is to educate and inspire young people to develop the skills they need to grow and become valuable members of society. The Runway Training programmes have been a great success, reaching over 16,000 secondary school aged students across the country.  

Our visitor visibly demonstrated the value of strong communication skills as he engaged learners in each session with enthusiasm and charisma. Having run multiple businesses himself, Ralph was able to use real experiences to inspire the learners. The sessions were like a constant Q&A, as learners were full of curiosity and keen to interact.  

Our Year 9 learners are preparing for a group presentation where they must pitch a business idea to Zack Akil from Google in 3 weeks time, using communication techniques to successfully sell their idea. In preparation for this, Ralph led our learners through the dos and don’ts of presenting. Learners had the chance to practise their public speaking and receive professional feedback. Our year 12 learners also enjoyed Ralph’s communication wisdoms in preparation for their Unit one presentation. For their Unit one presentation, learners will be required to create and deliver a presentation on innovation and enterprise.  

Our visitor also worked with our year 13 learners to develop their confidence and communication skills in interview environments. It is critical that our year 13 learners are prepared for their next step after LDE where they will undoubtably be faced with a range of interview situations. This session will not only help with life after LDE, but will also help our business learners to prepare for unit 8 on the course where they will be required to take part in an interview as an interviewee and interviewer.  

Thanks to Runway Training, our learners were left inspired and informed for their upcoming presentations and interviews.  

‘Ralph did a great job in all three workshops to demonstrate the value of communication, presentation and interview skills in industry. I believe that the learners will take their presentations and interviews very seriously as Ralph has helped them to understand the value of these units and how important these skills are,’ Sharian, Enterprise, Business and Economics Teacher.