A pupil in the Lower Sixth has recently completed the Financial Times’ Student Advocate Programme which offers the work experience opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of reading the FT in school and develop ideas on how the FT can better engage with young people.

Amelia Fishlock speaks of her achievements and experiences of the programme:

“My experience as an FT Student Advocate was very rewarding and insightful. Before I joined this programme, admittedly, I had never read a newspaper in full, but rather just looked at headlines to keep up to date with current affairs. I study Art, Geography and English and so the Financial Times did seem a little off-topic for my A-Levels when I first joined. As I read more articles from the FT and used it as a reliable resource for information, I became increasingly interested in the financial situations that countries find themselves in due to numerous causes. As a Student Advocate, my role was to raise awareness of the FT and the opportunities and advice it gave students in Sixth Form, from guidance on university choices and student loans to the latest on a world crisis to tips on the best experiences in London. I would then communicate any feedback on what the FT can do to be more accessible to our generation and what our generation would like to see more of. In terms of others on the course, I would give my opinions and summarise articles on the FT every now and then to the other advocates. We would have monthly calls, updating our mentors about our progress and brainstorming new ideas. We also met, via Google Meet, the ‘big dogs’ of the FT, who gave us an insight into what it is like to work at the FT, help with interview skills, and advice on how to better our skillset and the dos/don’ts of what you need to have or do for a certain job. Overall, I would highly recommend this course. It was interactive enough that I learnt a lot but only took up a couple of hours a month, meaning it didn’t interfere with my studies.”

Find out more about the FT Student Advocate Programme.