Filming for Speakers For Schools & The Advertising Association

Speakers for Schools is a charity committed to connecting schools and pupils with leading lights from various industries. The Speakers are all volunteering their time – motivated by a desire to give something back and help the kids by telling the story of their rise (and sometimes fall and rise again).

Visiting all these schools I’m struck by how professional and welcoming they are, and mainly the quality of the staff (from reception to head teacher) and the pupils. Wether I’m at an inner city school or an academy I’ve always come away really impressed.

I was commissioned to attend the Speeches and (very quickly) grab 5 minutes for a short interview with 3 Speakers from various companies that are all members of the Advertising Association.

One of the perks of travelling and filming is meeting all these different people – and again – I haven’t met a Speaker yet who isn’t committed, generous and open with their time and knowledge – they get that this is about social responsibility. They also all leave beaming after having a great time talking to these kids – who are all hungry and enthusiastic and in need of connections with the real world more than ever before.

Shoot one was Chris Goldson – Creative Sales Director at ITV. A whip smart, decent and really friendly guy – with a great story of his journey through TV to the job that he loves. He managed a great balance of educating the kids about the industry, entertaining them with his presentation and – most important of all – really inspiring them with priceless advice and more than a few pearls of wisdom.

Shoot two was Kathryn Jacob, CEO of Pearl & Dean – and another inspiring women who made a great impact on the girls at La Retraite School. I could see these girls just in awe of the smart, bold and fearless Speaker in front of them. She was awesome – dishing out uncompromising advice about how to cut your path out in the world. Kathryn made her way from Fleet Street in the eighties so she had some very helpful advice about how a girl can navigate  – and thrive – in a male dominated environment – she is also totally down to earth! The girls were expecting a female Dragon and what they got was a real person telling them to go for it and not put up with any crap from anyone. Sound advice.

The final Speaker was Justin Cook – CEO of Possible. One of the friendliest and helpful guys I’ve ever met. Justin told a packed sixth form at Invicta Grammer School his journey from his first paper round (and very quickly outsourcing the role for a profit) to starting and running one of the UK’s most successful digital agencies. Then he started really moving and has been ranked by Econsultancy as the second most influential person in UK digital. Sadly, I’m not the guy ahead of him but I’d say the industry is in the best pair of hands around. Again, the sense of social responsibility and support for the next generation of talent about to emerge into the world was great to see from such a young and successful guy.