RBS Back to Business Basics

Students at St Mark’s were awarded a unique opportunity to extend their learning beyond the classroom and go Back to Business Basics this week, with a team from RBS Bank, learning about the world of business finance.

On Tuesday 18th November, Dave Blakley, Head of Client Relations, Chris Richards, Recoveries Officer and Helen Neal, Audit and Survey Coordinator from RBS, joined Year 8 and Year 11 Maths lessons to help students gain a greater understanding of the role of banks and corporate finance and the impact that decisions made there can have on a global economy.

Back to Business Basics is a community involvement programme run by RBS Invoice Finance. The initiative sees staff from the bank host interactive workshops with secondary school students, educating them about how businesses finance themselves and how banks make lending decisions.

Andrea Helyar, Teacher of Geography at St Mark’s School, organised the event and commended the team from RBS on creating an engaging and interactive learning environment.

“Our students were delighted to have the opportunity to take part in a lesson with RBS,” she said.

“The lesson was cleverly planned and superbly delivered. During the range of interactive activities, students were able to gain a real insight into the role of the bank and the detailed risk analysis that needs to be undertaken when deciding to lend money to businesses.”

“The ‘Back to Business Basics’ scheme is a great way for schools and RBS to work together and we thank them for taking the time to share their expertise with us.”

The students took part in a series of workshops, looking at global organisations such as Microsoft, Sony Playstation and Amazon. The team from RBS created a range of scenarios for lending and then introduced some ‘game changers’ to challenge the students thinking and risk assessments of those companies.

Headteacher, Mr Barnaby Ash said:

“Working with local groups and organisations has always been an integral part of our school’s aim to widen the experiences of our students in preparation for life after school. The workshops provided by RBS have provided an unique opportunity to gain an essential insight into the world of finance and will no doubt have inspired our students to consider corporate finance in a new light.”

David Blakley at RBS Invoice Finance said: “We had a brilliant time with the students from St Mark’s C of E School.”

“The students were really engaged with the workshop and it was great to see them get involved with the different tasks we set.”

“Sessions such as the ‘Back to Business Basics’ workshops we run are a really important part of the work we do. They help students to develop their own evaluation and decision making skills. The workshops also educate students about the financial aspects of business which is crucial for both their own individual success as well as that of British industry in the future.”