In today’s episode you get to hear from not one, but two brilliant guests as I chat with Henry Faber and Walter Kerr, founders of Oppidan. Frustrated by shortcomings that they saw in the tuition sector, Henry and Walter set up Oppidan to tackle the pressurised, anxiety-driven education market in the U.K. Their goal was to disrupt the tuition sector by focusing on mentoring children - not simply teaching them fact. Their services help children develop critical life skills like empathy and emotional intelligence and not just how to pass their 11+. Since founding the business in 2016 they have grown rapidly and in 2017 expanded from tutoring in to summer camps with their unique, Oppidan Camps. Taking the US summer camp experience and bringing them to the U.K for children aged 7-14. We discuss so many fascinating topics during this interview and go deep in to the state of education today including: The impact that mentoring can have on children, Why it’s important for children to learn these life skills at a young age and What we can do to help level the playing field when it comes to social class and educational achievement We also dig into the business side of Oppidan and Henry and Walter share their insights in to what it’s like launching a start up in a completely new niche and the challenges they’ve had to overcome along the way. I loved chatting to Henry and Walter who are truly passionate about their business and it’s great to see them making a real difference. I took so much away from this interview and it really got me thinking about how I’ll approach some of these critical decisions for my own 3 year old daughter, Sienna, as she grows up. So if you’re currently working in the education sector, you’re a parent wanting to know how to give your child the best possible start in life or you simply want to hear how two inspiring entrepreneurs are carving a brand new niche in one of the UK’s most traditional industries, I know you’re going to love this one. If you want to find out more about Walter and Henry you can check out their LinkedIn profiles: Henry Faber - https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-faber-7989b5109/ Walter Kerr - https://www.linkedin.com/in/walter-kerr-145308119/ If you want to find out more about Oppidan you can check out their website - https://www.oppidaneducation.com/ We're always keen to get feedback so if you have any thoughts once you’ve listened to this interview just drop me an email at james@jbmc.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices