Pathways to Property celebrates 10 years of summer school

As part of the Pathways to Property Summer School, run by Henley Business School in conjunction with the Reading Real Estate Foundation (RREF), the youngsters got a chance to gain hands-on experience of working within the property industry, meet key people from the sector, and gain advice on how to further their careers.

Now in its 10th year, the fully funded, free-to-attend summer school gives young people from a diverse range of backgrounds an opportunity to discover what a career in real estate and planning might look like for them, as well as offering practical advice on how they can achieve their goals.

As well as attending workshops and seminars, the students took a day trip to the new Shinfield Studios to learn about a real development project, and got a chance to browse a job fair, where they could meet with industry experts and advisors.

The programme culminated in presentations by the students, taking on the roles of competing interest groups, to argue their case for and against a hypothetical development in Reading.

The summer school is funded by RREF, which also provides a substantial amount of industry support, work experience opportunities and open online courses to support the next generation of property professionals.

Academic lead for the summer school, and lecturer in Development and Planning at Henley Business School, Victor Nicholls said:

"It was wonderful to welcome students back to campus in person after the last two years of virtual summer schools. The support from the industry was first class once again, and the engagement by the students was hugely impressive. We saw so much enthusiasm and energy throughout the week and if these are the property professionals of the future, the sector is in good hands.”

Click here to find out more about RREF.