“Each generation is a new people.” – Alexis de Tocqueville

Today I’ll be speaking to sixth form leaders from across the UK about one of the most urgent – and often overlooked – opportunities in post-16 education: using generational dynamics to meet the changing needs and expectations of today’s students.

From Gen Z to the first wave of Gen Alpha, learners are arriving with new attitudes to education, work, technology, and authority. But rather than viewing this as a challenge, I’ll argue it’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine what sixth form education can, and should, be.

By understanding generational change, sixth form colleges can:

·      Increase student agency, engagement and belonging
·      Reframe the psychological contract between institutions and learners
·      Embed the AI-age skills students value most
·      Future-proof education in an age of short attention spans and rising anxiety

It’s time we stopped preparing students for the “wrong” century (i.e. the 20th century) and began preparing them for the age in which they’ll live and work – the AI age.

I’m excited to be part of today’s conversation – and delighted to have the opportunity to work with schools, colleges, and organisations, exploring the future of education and employability.