Cheltenham College launches MBA Programme

The Sixth Form students will learn how to set up a successful business

Posted by Stephanie Broad | October 31, 2016 | Teaching

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Cheltenham College has launched a mini MBA Programme for Sixth Form students, which will provide an overview of all the skills required to set up and run a successful business.

College students will use the knowledge they gain through the programme to produce a business proposal for their own start-up company and will present this to a panel of entrepreneurs in London’s business centre. A former Cheltenham College pupil is providing seed funding to enable the winning students to actually launch their proposed business.

The co-educational boarding school was listed in the Best Schools League Table of Top Independent Schools by A-Level results, and this mini MBA, which is modelled on internationally recognised qualifications of Masters in Business Administration, will set Cheltenham College apart from any other Sixth Forms in the country by becoming the very first school to become MBA accredited.

The idea for the mini MBA came from Head of Economics and Business at Cheltenham College, Dr Graham Mallard. “College is committed to the preparation of young men and women to leave here fully equipped to excel in whatever they choose. The chances that these young people will enter one career and stay in it for life are remote. The skills required to be a successful entrepreneur or to contribute with knowledge within an established business, are those that will set Cheltenham College pupils on the path to becoming astute business people,” he said. 

The Cheltenham College mini MBA will not just provide students with a comprehensive knowledge of the disciplines required to be successful in business, they will also develop leadership, team working, decision making, strategic thinking and presentation skills. The programme will be largely delivered by a range of experts from the worlds of business and academia, following on from the advice and tips that students at the College have already been lucky enough to hear this term from Dragons Den’s very own, Touker Suleyman,

This new programme comes as the school mark their 175th anniversary, having educated young people at The College since 1841. Students will benefit from the experience and expertise of Senior Lecturer at the University of Bath’s School of Management, Dr Richard Fairchild. One of the top business schools in the UK, Bath University has the only MBA in the UK that ranks in the global top 10, according to The Economist magazine, and this year Dr Fairchild will be part of the Cheltenham College Economics and Business Department, sharing with the students his expertise in behavioural finance.

For 175 years The College has provided a first-class education, nurturing well-rounded happy individuals, with the qualities of tolerance, understanding, compassion and commitment. Combine these talents with an intellectual appetite and genuine personal enquiry, and every pupil has limitless opportunities for success and preparation in life beyond school.

Headmaster Dr Alex Peterken said: “We are very proud to continue to uphold our enviable reputation for academic achievement. Pupils leave us with excellent qualifications which enable entry into top UK or US universities, but more than that they leave us well prepared with all the skills required for the next stage of their exciting futures.”