Fashion Retail Academy
The Fashion Retail Academy was founded in autumn 2005 and was the first of a number of such Skills Academies to be developed. This £20 million centre for excellence occupies its own specially designed headquarters in the heart of London's fashion retail district.
The Academy is already supplying a steady stream of talent to retailers across the UK high street, including our own brands. Arcadia Group is one of the founding supporters of the Academy, having joined forces with other retailers to fund 50% of its start-up costs with the other half coming from the Department for Education and Skills.
The Academy's principal concept is to train and prepare the next generation of young people for the workplace by teaching and developing the fundamental skills required in the retail industry. Its ethos and curriculum have been created to encourage entrepreneurial talent.
The 16 to 18-year-old students study for either a Level 2 Diploma, equivalent to GCSEs, or a Level 3 Diploma, which equates to A-Levels. During their time at the Academy they attend Masterclasses delivered by some of the biggest names in the industry, including Arcadia Group's owner Sir Philip Green.
To supplement their classroom studies, students are immersed in hands-on, practical work experience that is relevant to their coursework. This includes work placements in stores, including those of our own brands.
The Academy occupies a 45,000sq ft building on London's Gresse Street. It includes a lecture theatre with media wall and catwalk facility, classrooms with an electronic voting system and mock shops as well as a restaurant and other social spaces. The building was officially opened in the autumn of 2006 by the then Prime Minister Tony Blair.
For more on the academy, go to:
www.fashionretailacademy.ac.uk
