Southwark College’s Level 2 Art students took part in an exciting and immersive day of activities as part of Proud Prospects, an extension of Heritage of London Trust’s Proud Places programme, designed to provide young people aged 14–19 with the skills and confidence they need to succeed in their future careers.
The day, run by Proud Places and Heritage of London Trust (HOLT), facilitated by Delancey, and funded by the Jones Day Foundation, aims to inspire and equip young people with essential skills for future employment opportunities in the heritage and development sectors.
The students initially spent time off campus visiting Christ Church fountain near Blackfriars Bridge, during its restoration. They learned about London’s rich cultural heritage and the efforts required to preserve such iconic sites, allowing them to meet the conservators working on the fountain during the project. The group then created clay art pieces of the fountain and were also tasked with creating a presentation to be shown to the group during Proud Prospects.
Proud Prospects was hosted at Delancey headquarters and began with an introduction from Delancey, a leading real estate investment and development company. Students learned about various roles and their daily responsibilities and gained a deeper understanding of the industry from experienced professionals.
The groups then delivered their presentations to the rest of the group, receiving invaluable feedback before taking part in mock interviews with Delancey staff. This provided an excellent opportunity for the students to experience an interview setting and gain confidence in discussing their skills and career aspirations.
For the final part of the experience, students then split into groups to participate in a Dragons’ Den-style pitch for a heritage site in need of urgent funding for restoration, presenting to a panel of judges made up of: Jamie Ritblat, Founder and Chairman of Delancey, Paul Goswell, Deputy Chairman of Delancey, Stafford Lancaster, Chief Executive Officer of Delancey and Dr. Nicola Stacey, Director of Heritage of London Trust.
The panel was impressed with the students' creativity and the ability to think on their feet when asked difficult questions. The judges offered constructive feedback before awarding the best groups with recognition for their efforts. This experience allowed the students to apply the skills they learned in the workshops and site visits to a real-world business scenario.
Denzel Pickersgill-Lewis, a Southwark College student who participated in Proud Prospects, said: "Presenting was a forward step in my life. Standing in front of people and presenting my work is something that I have not done before, and it was a new experience. It was a good experience to gain confidence and to get my foot in with whatever I choose to do in the future."
Chloe Curry, Marketing Manager for Heritage of London Trust, said: "I’ve seen the students really grow over the course of the day, and it has been fantastic. It’s important to learn how to be more confident in front of anybody because it’s such a great life skill and if you can have faith in yourself then you can convince other people to believe in you. We are so grateful to Delancey for being such excellent hosts.”
Southwark College is proud to have been part of Proud Prospects, and we look forward to more collaborations that will offer our students the opportunity to engage with industry professionals, develop their skills, and prepare for successful careers.
For more information about our Art courses at Southwark College, visit Southwark.ac.uk/art
