Post by Chandni Vora MBE

𝑺𝒐𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍 𝒎𝒐𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒔𝒌. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒚! Those words stayed with me long after the City of London Corporation #Education Board Gala Dinner ended last night and they should stay with all of us. What an evening. A room full of peers, educationalists and advocates gathered with one shared purpose: to ensure young Londoners living streets away from one of the world’s greatest professional hubs actually know it exists for them. The night began with a serendipitous moment, Ellie Brignell and I were both frantically searching for the venue, only to discover we’d been placed on the same table in the beautiful setting of The Crypt in The Guildhall. Sometimes the universe just knows. I was fortunate to spend the evening in the wonderful company of Laurie Glees Prince Gennuh Mark Wardrop , and Steve Goodman OBE, principals and inspiring teachers from City of London schools and academies, leading in maths, biology and chemistry. Quietly amused to note those were precisely the A-levels I sat. Coincidence? I think not. The conversation was thought-provoking, the energy genuine, and the evening gave me the perfect platform to share what a career in #construction truly looks like and to extend an open invitation to sixth form engineering students to come and experience our City of London sites first-hand. Watch this space. A heartfelt thank you to Jamie Hannon FRSA for curating one of the most inspiring evenings I’ve attended in some time, a room with the genuine power to shape young minds across the Square Mile. Wonderful to exchange words with Naresh Sonpar CC , Chair of the Education Board, and the brilliant Judith Finlay CBE , Alderman Robert Howard, Caroline Haines and Year 12 student Omar Mahummad keen to take mechanical engineering at university. I was moved by the keynote from Callum Russell , whose call to action made every person in that room sit up and take count. The doors of the City are open. Let’s make sure every young person knows it. 🏙️ #SocialMobility #CityOfLondon #EducationBoard #Construction #Careers #WorkExperience #YoungPeople #Vascroft #Opportunity #SquareMile