As many students relaxed after the rigours of their first year in Sixth Form, Westbourne IB1 Students, Eloy, Nazar and Matthew headed to France for an experience of a lifetime, uniquely available due to personal links Westbourne has with the world’s leading MBA school, INSEAD.
Westbourne School prides itself on being the only UK school to provide students with entry into the global Summer School MBA experience at INSEAD. This is just one of the many unique opportunities at our IB School, part of our continuous efforts to develop well-rounded, multilingual and open-minded citizens who are fully equipped to handle the ever-evolving demands of the working world.
INSEAD is one of the world’s leading and largest graduate business schools. Westbourne’s links lead back to Chairman, Mr Peter’s, an INSEAD MBA graduate and the personal connection he has with the Summer @ INSEAD Programme. An intensive summer school programme it features world-class academic curriculum, company visits, talks with business leaders and entrepreneurs, as well as numerous team-building, cultural, outdoor and social activities all held at INSEAD’s camp, located just outside Paris. The perfect blend of activities for academically minded International Baccalaureate students.
Able to take advantage of this unique and transformative learning experience is only 70 students globally, family and friends of INSEAD alumni only. We are proud to be the only school in the UK able to recommend students directly for the selection process for this programme. Westbourne students who have previously taken part to describe it as “unforgettable”, “enriching” and helping them in“shaping a global mindset”.
INSEAD provides a truly valuable opportunity to live the life of an entrepreneur, develop real-life skills and broaden student’s horizons by understanding the nature of the business world. Current Medical student and past Westbourne graduate – Max Zhao experienced Summer@INSEAD and shared his experience of the programme.
He particularly liked an exercise called “Your First Hundred Days” – a simulation where you work with four other, previously unknown people to acquire a business, negotiate terms with suppliers and distributors and deal with all the issues.
He was assigned the role of the Sales and Marketing Director and had to collaboratively turn a century-old family business into an attractive modern company. In doing so he encountered problems including public relations, leader image, decision making and teamwork.
After this unforgettable, life-changing experience, Max felt that he has a greater understanding of the real business world and the people around him. Alexandra, who graduated in 2019 to take up a place at Exeter University, also found her Summer@INSEAD experience, crucial to her achieving a place at a Top UK Russell Group University.
This year’s attendees from Westbourne – Nazar, Matthew and Eloy also had a great time while developing key skills. INSEAD’s reports touched on demonstrating leadership, integrity and proactivity.
The students reflected upon the experience and concluded that “Failure is an important part of the process to enable people to overcome obstacles. Effective communication is essential. You should never rely on assumptions and should always be authentic.”
There are multiple aspects of the IB that we see as important, such as the extended project (a 4,000-word project on a chosen subject area) that teaches students to handle large pieces of research and prepare them for university.
Another IB component is CAS – 150 hours of creativity, action and public service helps students to gain an appreciation for sports, arts and their community while also developing key skills such as time management. It is our aim to develop young adults who are as prepared as possible to thrive in life after they leave school.
Career progression and development is at the very heart of the Sixth Form offering at Westbourne. We ensure that students are surrounded by inspirational professionals, from our own staffing team, including Principal – Dr. Griffiths a graduate of Imperial College London and a PhD in Chemistry right through to every member of the Westbourne Community
To further compliment the available programme at INSEAD we also partner with Cardiff Business Club and Cardiff University who provide our students with opportunities to attend lectures in a broad range of topics. We believe that this shapes driven and ambitious young adults – 90% of Westbourne graduates succeed in gaining entry to the elite Russell Group of UK Universities.