On Thursday, a group of Year 12 students travelled to the London School of Economics to join peers from across the GDST for the launch of this year’s GDST LEAD programme. Now in its fourth year, LEAD is an innovative Leadership and Enterprise initiative designed to help young women develop the transferable skills needed to become future leaders and entrepreneurs, underpinned by the values of courage, compassion and creativity.

Delivered in partnership with LSE Generate, the entrepreneurial arm of the LSE, the programme challenges students to set up their own social enterprise. Working in teams, they will conceive a sustainable product or service, with proceeds going to a chosen charity. Each group is supported by a dedicated mentor from LSE, who will guide them through the business planning process all the way to the final showcase, where they will pitch their ideas in front of an audience of 200 students and judges.

The launch event began with an inspiring keynote from Rachel Wang, BAFTA member and co-founder of Chocolate Films, a social enterprise that creates films for arts organisations and charities while training thousands of young people each year. She shared her journey as a social entrepreneur and award-winning creative producer, speaking passionately about diversity, storytelling, and how creativity can be used to celebrate unheard voices and empower communities.

Students then took part in a series of engaging workshops:

• The LSE Founder Challenge with graduate and entrepreneur, Chardee Ezadkhasty, the founder of Persian Kitchen.

• A lively improvisation workshop with Hoopla! facilitators Alex Atty and Liam Brennan, designed to build confidence, communication and teamwork through fun, fast-paced activities.

• A sustainability session led by Nikita Khandwala, focusing on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Students were encouraged to identify global issues they care about, explore design thinking principles, and consider how social enterprise can be a force for positive change in their local communities.

It was an energising and inspiring start to the programme, and we look forward to seeing how our students develop their own enterprises over the coming months.