Celebrating a Decade of Impact: Marking 10 Years of Forming Young Futures
What an evening of celebration and connection! Form the Future proudly marked its 10 Year Anniversary with a special reception at the magnificent University Museum of Zoology. The event honoured a decade of dedicated work in connecting young people with vital career opportunities and empowering them for the world of work.
The evening was a vibrant gathering of our incredible community, including our valued supporters, dedicated educators, generous funding partners, visionary employers, and passionate volunteer Ambassadors. It was a true celebration of our shared journey and an exciting look ahead at our vision for the future, expertly compered by Jeremy Sallis, to whom we extend our sincere thanks.
We were truly honoured to be joined by Mrs Julie Spence OBE CStJ QPM, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire, who delivered a powerful welcome address. Her words, along with heartfelt reflections from our partners and the young people whose lives we’ve touched, underscored the profound impact of our collective efforts.
Niamh Matthews, Assistant Director at Greater Cambridge Partnership, reflected on her eight years of working with Form the Future and the success we’ve achieved for the Greater Cambridge Partnership.
“Anne is always prepared to go one, or more, steps beyond – always with that sense of drive, passion and tenacity. The enthusiasm for what Form the Future is doing and the genuine inspirational impact it has on young people, and the system more generally, is clear for all of us to see. It’s that which has allowed us to continue to support this vital work. Work which we know has impacted so many thousands of young people in this area.”
Co-founder and CEO of Form the Future, Anne Bailey, expressed her gratitude and vision for both the past and the present: “Almost everybody has played a role in where we are today. Whether you’ve been a funder, a school partner, a volunteer, an Ambassador, a parent of a child, or a young person yourself, you’ve been there… We have the most amazing people. We always have attracted people with great talents and big hearts, and not only do we have all of our current staff here, but we have a lot of our former staff here tonight, and it’s really touching that they wanted to come along and be part of the celebration with us tonight.” She also gave special recognition to co-founder, Michaela, stating, “Michaela and I started Form the Future together, and I don’t think I could have done it on my own.”
Since our founding in 2015, Form the Future has been dedicated to building vital bridges between education and employment. We’ve had the privilege of working with tens of thousands of students across our region, providing essential career guidance, facilitating invaluable work experience, and creating meaningful connections with employers. Our core mission remains steadfast: ensuring that every young person, regardless of their background, can clearly see and confidently seize the opportunities ahead of them.
The transformative power of these experiences was eloquently captured by Yashaswini Kareti, a Year 12 student at Hills Road Sixth-Form College who completed an internship with Bango and aspires to pursue a finance apprenticeship. Reflecting on her journey, Yashaswini shared:
“My internship [with Bango] and my experience with Form the Future gave me confidence, a lot of confidence that I wouldn’t have had before, and a lot of information in personal finance. And that’s because, as young, aspiring individuals and students, we often don’t get this opportunity to go into the workplace and learn from the environment and from current professional individuals who are practising.”
The evening also provided a moment to recognise the extraordinary contributions of our key partners and supporters. A special Long-standing Contribution Award was presented to Stephen Blackmore, acknowledging his dedication to Form the Future since its very beginning. Stephen’s commitment to giving back and seeing the impact of his support on students has been truly inspiring. Notably, he completed an 18-month mentoring programme at Impington Village College, helping seven challenged students learn and achieve their goals. As testament to his impact, one of these students later reached out to Stephen for job advice and a reference, highlighting how his time, listening, honesty, and trust-building truly paid off.
Stephen Blackmore shared his sentiments: “I remember these two ladies [Anne and Michaela] coming to Turners probably 10 years ago, just before you formed Form the Future, and I thought this is a brilliant idea. When I started going into schools, I very quickly realised that actually the bright kids, the kids that will do okay, will be alright. But it’s the kids who have had the disadvantaged upbringings, who have really struggled in life. But what they needed was someone to listen to them. They needed someone to give them guidance. And to make them realise that they had a place in society. And that’s been my aim over the 10 years. I’ve had some amazing rewards from that, and I’ve had a great career in my life, but doing the work for you guys has been by far the most rewarding.”
Looking ahead, Anne Bailey shared Form the Future’s ambitious plans: “There are still a lot of challenges for young people as they look out to the world beyond education… The good news is that our model works. We can build a network, we can create opportunities, and we can give young people these opportunities to build connections, contacts, and knowledge while they’re going through school so that they’re entering their future with as much confidence and as many possibilities as possible… We are about to introduce a series of awards later this year, and they’re going to be celebrating the contributions of employers who open their doors to young people, to schools who are ambitious for their students, and for the young people themselves who show courage and resilience in pursuing their career opportunities.”
Anne also outlined key areas of focus for the next decade: “There are three areas: one is geographic expansion. We have a proven model, we know it works, and we know it’s needed elsewhere. So we are going to go wherever we are needed… Secondly, AI may be a threat, but it can also be an opportunity, and we are going to be exploring how we can use artificial intelligence and other forms of tech to improve our offer, strengthen our operation, and have an even greater impact. And then thirdly, we have a whole suite of new products we want to develop… We are really improving our offer for parents because parents are such a valuable and important player in their young people’s successes, so watch out for that.”
Prashant Shah, Chair of the Board, added: “What energy there is in the room tonight, and that’s a testament to the incredible culture and impact that Form the Future has had over these 10 years and the love that everybody feels for the organisation… It’s a great privilege to lead and chair the board of this organisation.”
Anne Bailey concluded with a call to action: “Today is not just a celebration, it’s an invitation. It’s an invitation to join us as we progress into the future, into our next 10 years… We really want to take the business to an even greater future, and we can only do it with all of your help.”
Thank you to everyone who has been a part of the Form the Future story. We are excited for what the next decade will bring as we continue to form young futures.