Hillcrest are delighted to have been shortlisted as a finalist for the EducationInvestor Awards 2017 in the category Content and Provision 2017 – Private Schools Group of the Year.
The EducationInvestor Awards celebrate excellence and recognise innovation in the sector as well as organisations and individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to education in the academic year 2016-2017.
Hillcrest which is part of Outcomes First Group, have been nominated for an EducationInvestor Award for their work in partnering with other schools within the group to develop a small mobile catering business. The social enterprise scheme promotes employability, purpose and prepares the students for the world of work by involving the local, wider and global communities.
This project covers wider areas of the school curriculum such as reaching out to other Hillcrest services and forming links with local businesses. All of the students from the Hillcrest schools have worked together to launch the business and have been involved in making decisions, planning, socially integrating and ensuring its success.
One of the advantages of the project is that it is encourages an entrepreneurial spirit as students learn about a range of subjects including business plans, food hygiene, fundraising, insurance, health and safety and marketing.
John Campbell, a Michelin star chef who runs The Woodspeen, a restaurant and cooking school in Newbury, is one of the trustees and is advising the students on menus and catering law.
The Hillcrest schools pride themselves on offering an education which exposes pupils to a broad, balanced, differentiated and relevant curriculum, designed to present them with challenges in which creativity is fostered and where they can be supported to develop into confident young adults who can contribute to society.
Commenting on becoming finalists for the EducationInvestor Award, Mausumi Maulik, Head of Operations for Hillcrest Services, said: “The disadvantages faced by the young people we support are significant and we are extremely proud to have been recognised for the long term difference we make to their lives every time a student develops new skills as a consequence of the innovative work found at all Hillcrest schools.”
Last year Outcomes First Group scooped Best School Operator – Private Schools Group in the EducationInvestor Awards 2016.
This year the winners of the EducationInvestor Awards will be announced on Tuesday 5th December at a gala dinner at the Hilton Park Lane, London.