A national campaign to inspire state students to fulfilment in the world of work launches today ( Monday 13th October) as statistics show the crucial importance of alumni in motivating state school students to success.
Research by the leading education charity Future First shows some state schools don’t harness the valuable talents of alumni as relatable role models for the current generation in the way that many private schools and universities have done for generations.
The research comes as Future First launches Back to School Week between October 13th and 17th in state schools across the country during which celebrities and every day heroes - from doctors and lawyers to plumbers and caterers - will return to their former state school to talk to the current generation about their career paths and the skills necessary to succeed in work.
Future First believes alumni can and should play an invaluable role in working alongside teachers, employers and careers professionals in preparing students for the working world. The charity is the only organisation enabling state schools to utilise the experience of alumni as work experience providers, mentors and e-mentors, career and education role models and as governors, fundraisers and donors.
The YouGov/Future First statistics show that:
- 75 per cent of state students are motivated to work harder after hearing from alumni.
- Only 3 per cent of state school graduates say that they hear from their old school at least once a year compared with 42 per cent of private school graduates.
- 75 per cent of state school graduates didn’t meet anyone who is working the sector in which they now work while they were at secondary school.
- Only 18 per cent attended a careers event during secondary school featuring someone who worked in the same job or sector in which they now work.
