School Council Trip - Holland House

Friday 10th March 2023, our School Councillors left their roles as mild mannered pupils and embarked on a challenging new career within the City of London. We spent a wonderful day working with Dr Sharon Wright at Holland House, in the shadow of the Gherkin, giving our young people a glimpse of potential jobs they could be doing in the future (with only a 30 minute commute on the Elizabeth Line).

In the early 20th century, shipping was big business for both transportation of goods and people. A host of big companies had offices in London, including Cunard, the White Star Line and Wm. H. Müller & Co. The latter was a Dutch company which specialised in shipping and trading, particularly transporting ore mined in Spain and North Africa. The Müllers commissioned prominent Dutch architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856-1934) to design an office block for their London base. The building has just opened to the public and our school councillors were one of the 'guinea pigs' to test out potential development opportunities for the space. 

Our young interior designers were able to marvel at the art deco lighting and tile work. Our young architects and developers were able to re-design courtyards and existing spaces into classrooms of the future. Our young CEO's had the chance to feedback their ideas in a boardroom setting. It truly was a unique day out. 

One of the cherries on the cake was managing to meet Alexander Morris from BentallGreenOak - one of the world's foremost property developers. He gave us some information about his life and how the City of London is open to all of our children, regardless of background, colour, class and creed. 

We hope to do a lot more work in the future at Holland House and with the wonderful Sharon. Watch this space!

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