SCHOOL NEWS // DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
CREATIVE ENTREPRENEURS RETURN TO SCHOOL FOR CAREERS & BUSINESS NETWORK EVENT
Our Careers & Business Network held a highly successful event in the School ’ s Art & Design Technology Centre in Michaelmas term , with the focus for the evening on creative and small businesses . The guest speakers for the evening were Old Pocklingtonians Beth Todd , who left the School in 2014 , and James Wilkinson who left in 2010 .
After trying a few different career paths , Beth decided a career in business was what she wanted to pursue . Whilst working in the family business , LMA Services in Pocklington , she undertook a work-funded degree in Marketing and Business , followed by a PG Diploma in Business and Finance , both completed online with the University of Essex .
Part of Beth ’ s studies included developing a proposal to establish a new business , which she then decided to launch in her spare time . Her company , F & B International , creates and sells country homewares , clothing and gifts online and is growing rapidly with customers both in the UK and overseas .
James Wilkinson graduated in Business , Management and Marketing from Leeds Beckett University and worked in marketing and business development before moving to Uganda in 2014 with another former pupil , Jonny Rowland , to help start Agri Evolve . Agri Evolve works with Ugandan farmers to help improve agricultural output and focuses on coffee processing . James has now set up Omwani Coffee Co . to develop the UK side of the project , importing speciality arabica beans directly from Agri Evolve ’ s processing plant in Western Uganda .
Beth and James shared with guests their experiences of setting up their own businesses , what motivated them to do so and the challenges they have faced along the way . They also spoke about the power of social media and how it has helped them to grow their businesses and communicate with their customers .
Toby Seth , Headmaster co-hosted the event with three Pocklington School business studies students , who helped create the highly informative question and answer session .
Toby commented : “ This is my third Careers & Business Network event . We have heard from OPs who are lawyers , business people and now entrepreneurs who have started their own businesses . What former pupils get up to when they leave Pocklington is astonishingly varied and so I think it is even more important that we prepare them for life after school with more than just excellent grades . That is why I think our Values and Virtues are fundamental .
Beth and James demonstrated these in so many different ways and I am so grateful to them for coming back to Pocklington . I was also delighted to see so many of our current students in the audience . This is really energising to see – they can learn so much from people like Beth and James . We were also so pleased to welcome a great mix of current parents and returning Old Pocklingtonians .”
“ What former pupils get up to when they leave Pocklington is astonishingly varied and so I think it is even more important that we prepare them for life after school with more than just excellent grades ”.
14 THE POCKLINGTONIAN