Gateley gets enterprising with Moss Side primary school

3rd November 2011

Gateley – the top 50, national law firm – has swapped the courtroom for the classroom to help pupils at a Moss Side primary school develop their enterprise skills.

The firm’s Manchester office has teamed up with a national education charity to deliver a comprehensive programme of work-related learning activities. Twenty-eight lawyers took to the class room at Webster Primary School as part of the Young Enterprise scheme.

This is the third year running that members of the firm have partnered with Young Enterprise, which works with over 300,000 young people each year, thanks to the support of business volunteers.

As part of the day, seven teams of solicitors replaced the school’s teachers to deliver a variety of hands-on activities, enabling the children to better understand the demands of the workplace. The school initiative, which included pupils between the ages of four and 10, consisted of six modules, with each class focusing on a range of social and business topics. These included: our family, our community, our city, our nation and our world.

Paul Rose, real estate partner and initiative organiser at Gateley, commented: “Young Enterprise carries out vital work in over 5,000 schools, colleges, universities and local communities to help engage and inspire young people.

“We have worked closely with the charity for a number of years to help bring together professional expertise from the business community and provide students with an insight into the working world. As a firm, we strongly believe in investing in regional schools, charities and community organisations and our ongoing partnership with Young Enterprise forms an integral part of that commitment.”

Michael Richards is a trainee solicitor who delivered one of the classes. He added: “It has been hugely satisfying and extremely fulfilling working with pupils at Webster Primary School. Through thought-provoking and engaging workshops, children from as young as four have been given the opportunity to build their confidence, improve their skills and spark their ambition.”

The Young Enterprise partnership is part of an annual CSR programme run by Gateley’s Manchester office. Earlier this year, the office nominated the Children’s Adventure Farm Trust as its chosen charity. Events will be hosted over the next 12 months to raise vital funds for the charity, which provides holidays and activities for terminally ill, chronically sick, disabled and disadvantaged children from all over the North West. To date, over £5,000 has been raised for the Cheshire-based organisation.