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The Powerlist Post 16 Leadership College opens in September 2015
FOR SEVEN years, publisher Michael Eboda has been profiling the UK’s 100 most influential Black Britons on its well-known Powerlist.
He has also taken great pleasure in highlighting some of Britain’s young black future leaders.
Now Eboda has teamed up with other high-profile professionals to take this mission one step further – educating young minds.
The Powerlist Foundation, the Powerlist’s charitable arm, has teamed up with Aspirations Academy Trust to launch The Powerlist Post 16 Leadership College.
It is one of 38 new free schools the government approved last week.
Earmarked for Lambeth, it is expected to open in September 2015. It will cater at first for up to 300 young people from all backgrounds eventually growing to 720.
APPLYING
Students can apply for the core two-year A-level and leadership programme or for the foundation year three programme.
This is tailored toward students who need to improve their GCSE grades to the levels required for the A-level course.
“I think this gives us a real opportunity to do a lot of things with a lot of young people,” said Eboda, chief executive officer of media and talent firm, Powerful Media Ltd. “I think it’s a lot more satisfying being able to develop somebody and make them a more confident and more able person.”
INSPIRATION
The idea for the college was inspired by The Powerlist Foundation’s desire to expand opportunities for young people and help them achieve.
It followed a successful leadership programme held last year for young, black future leaders.
“There are a lot of people who are doing things with kids who aren’t doing very well but, actually, there is not that many people who are doing things with kids who are doing well but also need that little turbo boost to take them to the next level. We decided we would focus on those kids,” Eboda told The Voice.
BREAKING GROUND: Michael Eboda
The A-level college aims to boost academic excellence and give ambitious young people, the skills and confidence they need to excel. Young people at the college will gain leadership skills and benefit from being mentored and motivated by the successful black people who feature on the Powerlist, Eboda explained.
“What we thought we could best do was to utilise the benefits of our knowledge as successful people and offer that knowledge to young people who were coming up,” continued Eboda. “We want the school to produce tomorrow’s leaders. We want to instil them with the confidence you get if you go to a top public school. When you go to the top private and public schools, one of the things you benefit from is the sort of people who come to speak to you.
“You get cabinet ministers who used to go that school, you get celebrities, you get scientists – the overall impression you get when all of those people come in is that there is nothing I can’t do; there are no barriers. This is what we want to give to the young people.”
Technology entrepreneur Ken Olisa, chair of the Powerlist Foundation, is also backing the school.
Olisa said: “Too often opportunities like this are only available to students whose parents can afford to pay for their education. The Powerlist Leadership College will be open to all, irrespective of their family circumstances... Sharing success with tomorrow's leaders is the Powerlist Foundation's motto. We will live this by using our links with leadership role models across all walks of life to provide students, parents and teachers with access to a rich source of experience and networking.”