What does it actually take to get a building project finished on time and on budget? That was the question Tony Tjonis explored with our children this week, opening their eyes to a career many had never considered: project management.

William Ford has seen no shortage of building projects over the years, including our Lighthouse provision, the playground redevelopment and our new pupil kitchen. The children know the buildings well. What they don't always see is everything that happens behind the scenes to make them possible: the different builders, workmen and experts who each play their part, and the person who has to coordinate it all to make sure the project comes in on time and at the price the client expects.

That person is a project manager, and Tony gave the children a real sense of what the job involves. In assembly, he set them a brilliant practical challenge: what would be involved in building a swimming pool for the school? The children rose to it with some excellent ideas, thinking through everything from cost to timing to who would need to be involved.

Tony also spoke about his own journey into the career and the skills that matter most in his line of work, skills we are proud to promote at William Ford every day: communicating clearly and working collaboratively with others, not just with your friendship group.

We are very grateful to Tony for giving up his time to inspire our pupils and open their eyes to yet another career possibility for the future.