School Report
Big Issue’s Top 100 Changemakers 2024
We are absolutely thrilled to have been voted as one of The Big Issue UK’s Top 100 Changemakers.
The annual edition celebrates ‘organisations and people who are making things better’. Changemakers come from all walks of life, from those quietly helping other to the ones loudly agitating to improve our world. It is such an honour to be on this list; congratulations to everyone on it and to our amazing team for the daily dedication and passion.
Together with our incredible supporters we are helping to create positive, lasting change - thank you for being on this journey with us!
The issue is on sale until Sunday 28 January. Please pick up a copy from your local vendor. Read more about the Housing and Homelessness Changemakers here.
Inside the London Hotel School
We were delighted to be featured in The Times on Christmas Day 2023!
Thank you for shining a spotlight on our work, and thank you as ever to the Hotel School community and alumni for all your ongoing hard work across the fantastic hospitality sector.
Read the full article here.
Winners of the 2023 Special Award at The Cateys
We were delighted to attend the spectacular 40th Cateys Awards this week and to hear that our co-founder, Jeremy Goring with Hotel School won this year’s Special Award.
Hotel School - a joint venture between The Goring and The Passage - has existed since 2017 to help change people’s lives who have experienced homelessness, displacement and disadvantage into employment. This award is really for our fantastic students; for their perseverance to transform their lives and successfully enter into jobs within the hospitality industry.
It is Hotel School’s ongoing pleasure to support people who need our help on this journey and we look forward to continuing to see our graduates and students flourish in the classroom, in jobs and in life beyond!
The Return Of The Skills Showcase!
Hotel School’s Skills Showcase is back! 🙌
Our students delivered a fantastic event. They prepped & planned everything from the menu to the drinks all the while demonstrating the practical skills they have been learning over the past few weeks. This is the first time our students have taken part in an event like this and we are so proud!
Applications are open for February 2022!
Applications are now open for our February intake!
This programme includes:
Free 10-week training programme covering key areas of service
Technical hospitality skills, chef training, barista training, soft skills development, hospitality focussed CV writing & interview skills
Tours & work experience at some of London’s best hotels & restaurants
Handbook and training materials provided
Travel and lunch provided
Ongoing graduate support on completion
Eligibility
18+
Experience not necessary but an interest in hospitality is essential
Have the right to work in the UK
Actively looking for work
Conversational and written English skills
Ability to commit to training 4 days per week
Key Dates and location:
Taster Sessions (interested candidates only need to attend one)
A chance for interested applicants to get a taste of what we do! Try some latte art, make a mocktail and meet people who work in the industry!
Wednesday 9th February – 10am-2:30pm
Wednesday 16th February - 10am-2:30pm
Main Course – 22nd February – 29th April 2022 (10 weeks)
If you are interested in applying or have suitable referrals please get in contact with zoem@hotelschool.org.uk or on 07845786453.
Friday Chat with Dana our Employment & Progression Manager & Searcys
Check out this Friday chat with our amazing Employment & Progression Manager Dana Sandrock!
Dana works incredibly hard and is very passionate about supporting our graduates into employment and helping them sustain careers in hospitality.
Thank you so much to Searcys for featuring us in your charity appeal!.
Cohort 11 Graduation Day!
Huge congratulations to our super talented graduates! We are so proud!
They have worked very hard over the last 10 weeks and have learned loads, from hospitality theory to technical skills, as well as visits and work experience with our fantastic hotel and business partners.
There have already been job offers and we cannot wait to see how they progress further over the coming months!
A very special thank you to the Conrad St James London for hosting us in such a beautiful location! 🌸🌸🌸
Inner Strength with Extract Coffee Roasters
We were delighted to be invited to share a cup of Inner Strength with a fantastic partners at Extract Coffee as part of their Inner Strength campaign.
Here’s more from Extract:
‘Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the differ. Not only is Inner Strength, our limited edition winter coffee, tasting epic but these beans are also a caffeinated fist bump to all the community projects we support throughout the year. For every bag of Inner Strength sold, we donate £1 to our Grounds Up charity collective supporting community projects across the UK.’
London & SE Regional Manager, Harrison Laird shared a cup with Zoe Minihan, our Programme Manager. You can tune into the chat here: Harrison & Zoe share a cup of Inner Strength
Zoe shared what Inner Strength means to her and the organisation:
“When we think of Inner Strength at Hotel School, we really think of all the students and graduates we have worked with over the years. Given some of the challenges they have faced, they show incredible amounts of bravery coming onto our programme. It takes real courage to try something new and allow yourself to make mistakes, learn and to keep on going. That’s Inner Strength to us.”
Meet our amazing new kitchen support training assistant!
We are delighted to welcome former Hotel School graduate, Pamela, into the role of training support assistant alongside our chef trainer. Pamela was looking to gain more experience in a kitchen setting and is passionate about cooking and knew she could share this with others.
It has been incredibly valuable for the Hotel School team to work with a former graduate and get their feedback and insight into programme delivery. Pamela has been an amazing addition to the team.
A Very Special Award
We were thrilled when former Hotel School graduate Colin was one of two of our students to be given an Outstanding Achievement Award by HRH Duke of Cambridge, at The Passage’s 40th anniversary celebration.
Colin is a lovely Hotel School success story. A graduate from 2017, Colin didn’t think he’d last a day at Hotel School, let alone complete a three month programme and go on to find long term employment. With great determination and perseverance, Colin has overcome significant challenges to overcome addiction and long term homelessness. He has now been working full-time at a partner restaurant for over two years and is, in their words “one of the family”.
Win! The Ultimate Home Barista Kit Raffle
Our amazing partners at Extract Coffee Roasters have this fantastic raffle to raise funds for their charity partners. Including us here at Hotel School!
‘Inner Strength is a caffeinated fist bump to all the community projects we volunteer with throughout the year. For every bag of Inner Strength sold, we donate £1 to our Grounds Up charity collective supporting community projects across the UK.
This year, to raise even more funds for our Grounds Up partners, we've teamed up with La Marzocco UK and are running a raffle for the ultimate home barista package worth over £4000!’
This epic package includes:
Bespoke, custom-designed La Marzocco Linea Mini Espresso Machine
1 year monthly subscription to an Extract Coffee Roasters espresso
Exclusive home barista course for you and a friend at Extract Coffee Roasters
Set of 2 coffee cups and saucers from Loveramics, donated by Brewed By Hand
1 bag of limited edition Inner Strength Espresso
1 limited edition organic cotton Inner Strength Tshirt
Get your raffle ticket here!
https://extractcoffee.co.uk/shop/ultimate-home-barista-raffle-ticket/
Hello to Cohort 11!
September 2021 sees us kicking off our 11th cohort!
The group are showing amazing potential already and we can’t wait to see how they progress in the next 10 weeks.
Stay tuned!
Spring/Summer 2021 Graduation Day!
Congratulations to our fabulous graduates!
Last Friday, our students graduated from the first full, in person training we have been able to put on since the start of the pandemic!
Thank you to team Hotel School and all of our partners who helped make it happen.
We’re so excited to see our new graduates embark on their next steps into the exciting world of hospitality!
Launching Wellbeing Wednesdays!
We are super excited to announce the launch of Wellbeing Wednesdays!
We’ve teamed up with the amazing Beyond Food Foundation, Crisis UK, House of St Barnabas & LinkedIn to put on a series of free online workshops focused on the 5 Ways to Wellbeing with a special hospitality twist.
On 27th February, our very own Chef Michael will be delivering The Art of Self Care Cooking & Hotel School’s Dana & Giacomo will deliver a session on Mindfulness, Meditation & Movement.
More here!
Autumn 2020 Graduation Day
Graduation Day! We made it!! 🎓🎉🎓
4 weeks ago we launched a brand-new, shortened blended learning programme, introducing students to hospitality as well as similar industries where hospitality skills can be transferred.
The new programme is hospitality based but also allows students to apply for a much wider range of opportunities to thrive in these unprecedented times.
We had 100% attendance and graduation rate proving we have never been needed more right now.
Congratulations to all of our graduates for this amazing achievement!!!
Big thanks to team Hotel School for pulling this off!
We won an award!
We are absolutely delighted to have been selected for the Charitable Soul award in the Victoria & Westminster Awards 2020! A massive well done to team Hotel School and all of our volunteers & mentors who have worked so hard this year. Read more about the awards here!
https://edition.pagesuite.com/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&edid=306c46a6-3e32-4fbc-841a-1cf3165b0cf5&pnum=1
Back to School!
A brand new programme & exciting partnership!
We are delighted to have launched a brand-new, shortened programme. From 14th October, a series of 4-week courses delivered in person and online, focused on introducing students to hospitality as well as similar industries where hospitality skills can be transferred. The new programme is still hospitality based but allows students to apply for a much wider range of opportunities to thrive in these extraordinary times.
A new partnership with Westminster Kingsway College
Westminster College has long been the benchmark catering and hospitality school in the UK. It’s Alumni are among the household names of hospitality, Michelin star cooking, and the UK restaurant scene. We are thrilled to have partnered with them and to be to delivering our new programmes from their world class demonstration kitchens and learning spaces.
Thanks to the fabulous people at Westminster, we are taking Hotel School to the next level.
Covid 19 - Our response
Hotel School was due to kick off our ninth cohort in March after a successful taster week when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. Having to postpone the programme was difficult but we have been supporting our taster week participants during the uncertainly and have kept them on hold until we know we can return.
With stay at home measures implemented, we moved our support online. Hotel School has currently in excess of 50 graduates who have all been impacted by this situation in some way, either by no longer being in work or placed on furlough. We have stayed in close contact with our employer partners to best support our graduates during this difficult time.
We have responded to an increased demand in support for those in financial hardship, with mental health issues, and ensuring people who were not in stable accommodation had somewhere to secure to self-isolate. The ongoing support has ranged from offering advice and guidance on COVID-19, furlough, welfare benefits, & budgeting & finances.
A FOCUS ON WELLBEING
We have seen how this situation has impacted our graduate’s mental health so we have placed a significant focus on mental health & well-being. We keep in touch daily, via messaging, phone & video calls which are especially important for those who are isolated. We are giving additional support with things like managing anxiety, loneliness, sleep, nutrition, exercise & staying motivated.
Summer Term Graduation Day!
Our 7th Cohort’s Graduation Day at Hotel School!
Congratulations to all of our incredible students! Commitment, enthusiasm, perseverance and hard work got them here. We are delighted and so proud of them all.
We look forward to seeing our graduates entering into wonderful world of hospitality!
Hotel School is recruiting!
We are excited to announce we are now taking referrals for September 2019!
We offer a 10 week, free hospitality programme, for those who are looking to gain entry into the industry.
We hold week long 'taster sessions' which allow potential students to get a taste for hospitality with our fun interactive sessions.
Taster Sessions: 10th-13th September 2019 - 10-3pm daily
Main Course: 24th September -28th November 2019
Main Course Eligibility Criteria:
Aged 18 +
No previous experience required, but an interest in hospitality is essential
Ability to commit to 10 weeks of training (Monday to Friday core hours between 10-4pm.)
Right to work in the UK
Please contact zoem@hotelschool.org.uk or 07845786453 for more details.
On Your Bike!
After a week of successful work placements with some of London’s best hotels, the students demonstrate their skills at The Passage’s Summer Garden Party. With over 300 guests, the students did an excellent job creating a specialty Hotel School cocktail, ‘Purple rain’. This cocktail, infused with lavender, was invented especially for the event. The cocktails were a great success, and students did exceptionally well keeping up with the demand. A huge thanks to Bennett Hay for lending us a wonderful pop-up delights bike!
Will Greenwood: Our New Head of Sports & Fitness
We are delighted to announce Hotel School's new Head of Sports and Fitness, Mr Will Greenwood, MBE. As a British Lion, and with 55 Caps and 31 tries for England (plus a World cup Winner's medal), Will is ideally suited to the task of assisting our students in improving work-ready fitness. His day jobs as a Sky Sports presenter and founder of School of Hard Knocks both stand him in good stead for the challenges ahead. Welcome Will!
Honoured to have the support of HRH at our special sponsor event
#hotelschoollondon Mick Clarke, Chief Executive of the Passage. His Royal Highness, the Duke of Cambridge. Plus a.n.other.
Hanging out with the stars!
Ioan with the brilliant Chris Galvin, multiple Michelin Starred chef and excellent chap.
Life after Hotel School
One of our favourite graduates at work at Park Plaza Riverbank.
All in a day's training!
One of our students on a rather special training run!
Fabulous students and fabulous teachers!
The class of November 2017 about to graduate!
Yes! Headmistress
Veronique Bonnefoy - “The Headmistress” teaching her famous Cerises Jubilee. She thought life was interesting under Gordon Ramsay! With 2 of our fabulous students.
Meanwhile back in class...
Of our 20 teachers, this one is the weak link but he tries his best!
Graduation Day November 2017
#hotelschoollondon Very proud of yet another cohort of Hotel School students graduating.
Thank you for the songs Ronan Keating
#hotelschoollondon The fabulous Ronan Keating @rokeating singing to our guests at the Hotel School launch event.
The fabulous Jack Stein, plus some fish, plus our brilliant students with the “headmistress“
#hotelschoollondon Jack Stein @JackStein generously sharing his expertise at our launch event.