LAUDE LADY ELIZABETH TO BE FIRST SCHOOL IN SPAIN TO OFFER PRESTIGIOUS PUBLIC RELATIONS QUALIFICATION

LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School, the Costa Blanca based co-educational day school, will be the first school in Spain to offer pupils the chance to study for the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Foundation Award. The Foundation Award is the first rung on the ladder to a career in Public Relations or communications management.
Pupils choosing to study the CIPR Foundation Award at LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School will:

• Learn how to write a press release
• Discover what makes news and how to interest a journalist in what they have to say
• Learn how to create a good picture for print, the right sound for radio and when something might be of interest to television

Public Relations is now a major industry employing almost 50,000 people in businesses with a combined turnover of £6.5 billion in the UK alone. Working in PR is one of the top three career choices of university graduates. Of those who chose to study the subject at university 77% found work in the industry within six months and one in five began on a starting salary of more than £20,000.
Commenting on his school’s decision to offer the CIPR Foundation Award, Richard Wijeratne, LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School’s Headmaster, said: “It is very exciting to be the first school in Spain to offer this qualification in PR, a profession which is becoming such a popular career choice for young people today. We hope that having this qualification under their belt will help our students as they compete for university places. However, whatever career path students choose to follow the communications skills taught by the Foundation Award will help students understand how the media works and how to influence the press.”

Chris Tucker, a long-standing member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and a lecturer in Public Relations to both graduates and post-graduates, will teach the Foundation Award at LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School in November and December of this year. In addition Chris runs her own PR and media training consultancy and was previously Director of Public Relations for Barclays Bank. She has worked on campaigns with people such as Nelson Mandela and the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
The Foundation Award is aimed at pupils in Year 12 and 13 who are planning to take “A” Levels. Whilst it is being taught at LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School pupils from other schools wishing to take the Award will also be considered.

Further information about the Award can be found on LAUDE The Lady Elizabeth School’s website or by contacting Chris at tucker.chris@hotmail.com or by calling Chris on 659 653 694.

For further information contact: Chris Tucker Tel: 659 653 694 Email: tucker.chris@hotmail.com

Notes to editors: The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), the professional body for public relations practitioners, was founded in 1948, and received its royal charter in 2005. For a number of years, it has provided courses and qualifications at undergraduate and post graduate levels, in co-operation with British universities and selected private training organizations. Now, owing to public demand both in the UK and overseas, it has developed a new award, the Foundation Award, at United Kingdom “A” level standard, or level 3.