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Andy Powell - Chief Executive
I am Andy Powell. I want to change the education system and strongly believe this will only happen by understanding the inside but operating from the outside – on the Edge.

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Horse's Mouth, Richard & Judy, and Pushy Parents
7th August 2007

It's time to go on hols, but before I do I must tell you about some fabulous developments over the past couple of weeks:

The 'soft' launch of Horse's Mouth at No 10 with the Prime Minister, a great crowd of at least 200, and an excellent short talk from the founder, MT Rainey. It is great to see this social e-mentoring web-site come to fruition, and I urge you to sign up. www.horsesmouth.co.uk
A couple of days later I found myself on the sofa having a chat with Richard and Judy about whether university was necessarily the right route for everyone. Also in the studio were a young lad who had turned down university despite 4 A-grade A's in order to set up his own business; his exasperated mum; and a columnist from the Sunday Express who was horrified at the thought that her daughter of eight months might not go to university! R & J are particularly interested because two of their children have gone to university and two not - one of their twins is there now, and one has just left in order to get out and do things. As you would imagine they were very professional and down to earth - it was a good little piece.
Finally we have been frantically tying down the details of our first ever TV advert, developing a new 'microsite' aimed at parents, and doing lots of radio interviews to support the campaign. Essentially we are challenging 'academic snobbery' and urging parents to gain a greater understanding of the benefits of practical and vocational learning so that they can advise their children on the options that are best for them and that best suit their interests and talents. We have also set up a 'Parents Panel' of more than 5,000 parents with children aged 11-16, and surveyed young people of 18-30. Key findings include one in five (19 per cent) young people think they have been led down the wrong educational path, with almost half (42 per cent) of these being misdirected by their own parents. The advert is based on a driving lesson and the classic tension of parent telling their child what to do - it airs for the first time on Channel 4 and in national newspapers on 13 August 2007. Please watch out … and let me know what you think!

Phew! Time for a break - back late August.

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