Partnerships
HOW TO WORK WITH BUSINESS
Building relationships with local companies can bring funding opportunities and enrich links between schools and communities. Here’s how it’s reaped dividends for one secondary school
‘B
ringing together business and education is something we’re all passionate about,’ says Jo
Ballantine, director of development at the Royal Latin School in Buckingham. ‘It’s one of those commitments that all parties know to be a good idea, but which schools and businesses often feel is a complicated thing to achieve.’
The opening of the Discovery Centre. Below left: Racelogic pledges £100,000 towards a sports lab
In just over a decade, Jo has used
her role to develop relationships with businesses that have brought huge benefits to the 1,290-pupil school. Her secret? ‘We try to make it a straightforward and thoroughly rewarding experience for everyone involved. Seeing students enthused and excited to learn from businesses – and seeing how much the businesses enjoy sharing their worlds with young people – is powerful stuff. Everyone walks away from those interactions absolutely buzzing, with the sense that such experiences are essential to nurturing the employees of the future.’ Amplifying social impact is a
hot topic for businesses who are increasingly looking to broaden how they measure success beyond the bottom line. The RLS hosts regular corporate networking events to enable sponsors to meet others in the school community. It also publicises and offers
sponsorship opportunities through the school website. Jo has focused her ongoing
work with businesses around building support for long-term high-profile projects, most notably the 600 Campaign, which marks the school’s upcoming 600th anniversary with the development of an innovation hub (the Discovery Centre) and Sports Campus. ‘The school works with each
company to create a partnership which provides opportunities to build mutually beneficial relationships,’ says Jo. ‘For companies, this often means coming into school to give talks to students or help with projects. For students, it means powerful opportunities to hear about different careers and help solve real world business problems.’ So how do these relationships
work in practice? We profile three of the school’s key partnerships overleaf.
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