St Paul’s has been a seedbed for entrepreneurs, from Sir Thomas Gresham in the 16th century to Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE (Travelex), Saul Klein (Love Film) and Aron Gelbard (Bloom & Wild) today.

As we enter what some are calling the fourth education revolution, teaching and developing generic soft skills – including the specific skills of enterprise – will be of central importance to young people’s future success.

In 2018, we founded Start it, the West London Schools’ Entrepreneurship Programme, to provide teaching, mentoring and meaningful opportunities for young people to become the next generation of entrepreneurs. Supported by our alumni and parent networks as well as our partner schools, we look to share our wisdom and experience with the young people involved, as they acquire the confidence and skills to start their own businesses. Crucially, the programme is open to, and promoted amongst, all of the young people in the local area. A key focus of the partnership is to foster collaboration between different groups of young people and to promote social enterprise.

For further information about events and the Start it programme, please contact Head of Enterprise, Nick Troen npt@stpaulsschool.org.uk

Moving Forward – Local Area Learning Partnership Group

Our aim over the next five years is to build a local area learning partnership group with local schools from both the independent and maintained sectors. This will more effectively facilitate the programmes set out above and help ensure that we are sharing our expertise in educating those who are most academically able – and our pupils’ desire to engage – to its best effect whilst also learning from our colleagues in other teaching settings.

Start It Pro – Incubator Programme

This year, St Paul’s School is providing an incubator to help develop pupil businesses in a formal, structured manner. The Start it PRO incubator programme is designed to help Upper Eighth or recent Old Pauline start-ups in their infancy succeed by providing resources, seed funding, mentoring and training. The closing date for applications is 12 February 2021. To find out more or apply, please click here.