June Pride Month is a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community’s contributions to history, society, and cultures worldwide. Throughout the month of June the roots of Pride, tracing back to the pivotal Stonewall Riots in June 1969, are celebrated. Origins of Pride Month The foundations of the gay rights movement date back to the early 1900s, when courageous individuals across North America and Europe established gay and lesbian organisations like the Society for Human Rights in Chicago, founded by Henry Gerber in the 1920s. Following World War II, groups such as the Mattachine Society and the Daught ..read more

This month its Mental Health Awareness Week from the 15th – 21st May 2023, so we thought we’d concentrate on this subject as our ‘Hot Topic’ for May. It’s important to remember that anxiety is a normal emotion that we all experience from time to time. However, when anxiety becomes overwhelming and interferes with our daily lives, it can become a mental health issue that requires attention and support. Various factors can contribute to anxiety, including academic or work-related stress, relationship issues, and major life changes. Financial insecurity and struggling to meet basic needs such as ..read more

We caught up with Mevish Naveed, who is currently studying for her Level 2 AAT Accounting qualification, while working in the Business Administration team at Cherwell District Council. When Mevish finished school at 16, she was unsure about what to do next, and considered both sixth form college and apprenticeship options. While initially opting to go to college, she kept her eyes open for apprenticeship schemes, and soon spotted a business administration opening at her local authority. “I thought I would give it a go to see if I liked it. I got the job and started working towards my Level 2 q ..read more

How to beat exam anxiety With exams due in the Spring, we know that these can be a stressful and overwhelming time for many students. However, with the right preparation and stress-management techniques, you can tackle exams with confidence and achieve your academic goals. Here are some top tips for revision and managing stress during exams: Start Early: One of the most important tips for exam preparation is to start early. Begin by creating a study plan that covers all the topics you need to revise. This will help you to stay organised and ensure that you cover everything you need to know bef ..read more

Next up in our series on accountancy apprentices for NAW23 is Dominic O’Sullivan, trainee accountant at Richardson’s. 16-year-old Dominic was very much into economics and finance, and so opting to study Maths and Economics at A-Level was a no-brainer for him. But after receiving disappointing results in his first round of exams, Dominic had to dig deep if he wanted to gain a place at his university of choice. “Those results were the first proper stumbling block I’d faced in my life. I decided that I had to get my head down and re-take some papers, and thankfully I was able to achieve the resul ..read more

At the end of 2022 Lily Gammon completed the final three Advanced Level papers of her ACA apprenticeship with Reed Business School. Her average mark over the three papers is nothing short of astonishing – making her the second highest performer in the world. We caught up with her for National Apprenticeship Week 2023 to see how she did it. Lily works as a Senior at Francis Clark – a role that gives her exposure to a wide variety accounting work, including accounts preparation, corporate tax and personal tax. She believes that this range of work has helped her understanding of how different ele ..read more

Simon Lockwood is a trainee accountant at Crowther’s, and his just completed his Level 2 AAT qualification on an apprenticeship programme with Reed Business School. Simon knew he wanted to be an accountant from the age of about 14 – with a natural aptitude for Maths and an enjoyment of his Business Studios classes at school. When coming to the end of his A-Levels he started considering his main options: university to study accountancy; or an apprenticeship to earn and learn at the same time. It was his career advisor who recommend the apprenticeship route: “My advisor said that as I was so sur ..read more

Katie Moran is currently working towards her Level 7 ACCA qualification on the apprenticeship programme with Reed Business School. As a mature student, who started her training in her 40s, her story is a little different to most… Growing up, Katie wanted to be a teacher. She trained for it at university, but found herself in a banking job shortly after graduation. After returning to teaching some years later, she realised that the profession wasn’t for her after all, and that banking and finance were perhaps a better fit. Securing a new job with Cheltenham Borough Council, she immediately felt ..read more

Isabel Godfrey is an Outsourcing Associate at Wenn Townsend, and is about to start her Level 3 AAT apprenticeship, having just finished her Level 2 exams with us. Isabel didn’t have a clear career path once she’d left school, so took on an admin job at Wenn Townsend once she’d finished her A-Levels to get some office experience. She enjoyed the work, and following some time away travelling, she was welcomed back to the team, and started to consider progression within the firm. After obtaining an admin qualification, Isabel was encouraged to consider the accountancy route, and having heard ..read more

Simon Lockwood is a trainee accountant at Crowther’s, and his just completed his Level 2 AAT qualification on an apprenticeship programme with Reed Business School. Simon knew he wanted to be an accountant from the age of about 14 – with a natural aptitude for Maths and an enjoyment of his Business Studios classes at school. When coming to the end of his A-Levels he started considering his main options: university to study accountancy; or an apprenticeship to earn and learn at the same time. It was his career advisor who recommend the apprenticeship route: “My advisor said that as I was so sur ..read more