London students experience a slice of university life at City St George’s

Seventy students aged between 14 and 15 from economically deprived schools across London attended the Future Professionals summer school. This was sponsored by The Lord Mayor & Liveries, including Tallow Chandlers, Management Consultants, Tax Advisers Corporation and City of London at City St George's. The free programme, aimed at upskilling students, gave them a glimpse into journalism, law, entrepreneurship and medicine among other professions.

Participating institutions included Hammersmith Academy, City of London Academy Hackney, Mulberry UTC, City of London Academy Highgate Hill, City of London Academy Highbury Grove, Leigh Halley Academy and Greig City Academy.

The programme was funded by the City of London Corporation, with donations from Livery companies and the Lord Mayor of London. Spread across two weeks starting Monday 6 July 2026, it gave a chance for these students to work with academics and explore the campus.

Sessions ranged from talking about the climate crisis to discussing the managerial challenges in the financial sector. Students got a chance to do news reporting in journalism studios and were fascinated by the amount of money corporate lawyers make.

Alexia Zimbler, senior lecturer specialising in criminal law, led one of the sessions to familiarise students with the world of law.

The purpose of these workshops is to give students a taste of being a lawyer, but not just in the traditional sense.

I think unless people who practice these professions talk to the students directly, they just don't believe it's possible. Most of the information online tells them they need specific grades to do this, which is inaccurate. I told them that 90 per cent of the skills needed to be a lawyer are something you learn over time.

I'm scared most of the time I’m in court, but you must learn not to show it; that's the trick.

For students like Keiran, it was a thrilling experience.

"It's been giving me some crucial knowledge that I can apply in the real world,” he said.

“If I had to describe it in one word, I think it would be ‘joyous’. I got to learn a lot from the medical suite. I didn't know babies could have seizures.

“I learnt that journalism in studios is much more complicated than I thought. I want to do graphic design for games, but coming here has taught me that art can come in many forms and shapes."

Students like Jadzia were able to overcome their fear of public speaking

“I think I've become more confident because I'm not that good at talking in front of other people, so these activities really help me do that,” she said.

“I want to be a creative director, so the media workshop was useful in learning about branding and time constraints.”

Many students got a chance to learn about professions in depth, like Beni.

This programme allowed me to explore new careers that I'd never heard of. I was also connected with a careers counsellor who gave me a chance to find jobs related to the subjects I'm good at.

I thought all lawyers were the same, but they introduced me to corporate law, which I really liked. At school, the curriculum is strict, and we've been doing the same thing for many years, so they introduced me to newer learning. The teachers here have guided me to show that everyone has their own paths, and you must work hard to find your right path.

Sesen, meanwhile, discovered how jobs need not be rigid.

I learned how flexible jobs can be. You don't need to have certain grades or study certain subjects to get into a profession. If I like the media, I could also go into investments, so they don't have to be strict,

I want to pursue maths and music, so my counsellor helped me plan how to pursue that outside of school.

There was also a hackathon arranged by City Ventures to show students what entrepreneurship looks like. Students were divided into teams, all led by a member of Betterspace, a community for entrepreneurs in London. These included directors, leads, and managers, all with hands-on experience in running a company.

The activity gave students a chance to think about the atypical professions they might be able to pursue and not stick to the traditional occupations. Students also had the opportunity to come up with a business model which they presented to the entire class.

Sarah Worth, Partnership and Social Impact Manager at City Ventures, said:

The main objective of this hackathon was to instil creativity and innovation in the students from a young age, along with giving them a platform to practice their presenting and public speaking skills. Students leave with a basic understanding of what entrepreneurship is and how they can get involved.

Richard Allen-Campbell, from Loudspeaker, an organisation dedicated to helping young people build speaking confidence, delivered a high-energy workshop that taught students techniques to help them to speak professionally and leave them confident enough to take up opportunities. Dealing with this age group regularly, he had some key insights to share.

There is a lot of social anxiety in this generation trying to mix in groups of people that they don't know. COVID is a huge factor to be blamed, along with social media, for this introvertedness and immaturity. Hence, workshops like this are necessary to instil confidence in them, giving them a space to think, to be creative, and to explore. Our main objective is to teach them public speaking and teamwork, but at the same time, show them that this is what is possible for them in the future. These are the types of courses you could do if you go to university

The programme ended with a celebration and graduation ceremony for the students.