Anthony Steven Barrell, David Matthew Hammond, and Ian Oakley-Smith have been appointed as joint administrators of BXL Services to manage its affairs, business and property as its agents. Anthony Steven Barrell, David Matthew Hammond, and Ian Oakley-Smith are licensed to act as insolvency practitioners in the United Kingdom by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
News from BXL
BXL Services – in administration
BXL Services: Important Announcement
We wish to advise you that BXL Services went into Company Administration on 23rdJanuary 2012. Please find appended below the press release that explains the reasons for this in more detail. The Administrators are now working intensively to seek buyers for BXL to enable the business’s long term survival.
In the interim BXL remain totally committed to continuing to deliver its service orders and indeed BXL staff continue to be available to discuss how we might best meet your future requirements. If you have any immediate questions though please do not hesitate to call 0845 600 7756 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it us.
May we take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for your engagement with BXLand acknowledge the difference you are making to the future prospects of our local young people.
The BXL Team
Click here to read the press release.
BXL Chief calls on West Midlands businesses to engage with young people to prevent future riots
West Midlands businesses were today urged to step forward in order to help prevent young people getting involved in future riots.
The rallying cry was made by BXL's John Ling and comes after an approach to tackling the recent disorder stalled due to a lack of a clear vision on how to engage with local youths who are struggling with a lack of skills and unemployment.
The Chief Executive of the region’s largest education business partnership believes the answer lies in less consultation, reducing the number of brokers looking after their own interests and the development of a robust plan that companies can buy into and start delivering.
“We have all been extremely slow to react to the troubles we saw in the summer and I class Government, local councils, the third sector and business in this collective ‘we’,” explained John.
“A strategy for working with young people and business volunteering has not yet been sorted and, in the meantime, a few token ‘on the ground’ initiatives have yet to deliver real sustainable benefit.”
He continued: “Schools and the third sector aren’t going to hold the answer and the Government’s National Citizenship scheme will be just a drop in the ocean when you consider that this new programme supported just 10,000 nationally this year.
“That leaves the way forward in the hands of the business community in the West Midlands. And why not, after all they stand to gain the most tangible benefits from engaging with young people and providing access to positive role models?”
Ling said the need for a region-wide charter to be put in place is crucial and social media could be used to disseminate and secure buy-in from all parties.
In terms of hands-on support, he singled out the need to harness business knowledge, experience and resource to help young people develop skills, raise aspirations and provide greater employment opportunities.
Training more business volunteers and mentors and then matching them with schools is a good starting point and there is an urgent need to develop an efficient signposting service that offers a single gateway to all the advice and support.
“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel, funding simply won’t allow that,” added John.
Why do people volunteer?
One of our Education Business Consultants, here at BXL, has just completed 2 training sessions with staff from PWC who have signed up to take part in a numeracy project in primary schools (Maths Ambassador Project).
We always ask volunteers why they put their names forward and last week was no different.
The responses were interesting. One volunteer explained that he’d been a part-time peripatetic music teacher in schools and missed the contact with young people. He also supported PWC at graduate recruitment fairs and wanted to work at the other end of the age range. Another chose to get involved after tutoring his girlfriend through maths for her PGCE course and recognised how hard maths is to some. He had taken Maths at University before joining PWC. A young lady remembered how she had often felt in maths lessons so recognised the possible benefit of helping raise self-confidence with school children.
The Maths Ambassador project with PWC is now in its 4th year. The programme runs between 9.00-10.00 am, one day per week, in 3 different primary schools across the city. Each school has a core group of volunteers who identify dates when they can support the programme – this usually means a volunteer will go into school every 4 weeks so not too much of a time commitment.
The main aim of the programme is to support schools in raising levels of achievement in numeracy with the use of specially designed numeracy games. As well as developing children’s confidence and motivation to learn, the programme gives them a positive insight into the world of work.
This coming Friday BXL are running a training session with 24 newly recruited volunteers from a company in Solihull who are supporting 2 local infant and primary schools. They will be involved in numeracy and literacy projects as part of the company’s “Make a Difference Day” where each employee is allowed one day per year to support community projects.
The same question will be asked- “Why have you volunteered” and it will be interesting to hear their responses.
If you would like to find out more about volunteering and how we work with businesses, contact BXL on 0845 600 7756 or email us at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Harborne Academy Jaguar Visit
With a week to complete a project brief set by Midlands based car giant Jaguar, the students from Harborne Academy got a real insight into the world of car manufacture and sales. The students started the week with a tour of the Castle Bromwich plant; a unique opportunity to find out as much information about Jaguar as possible. They also got a look at the finished products at the visitor centre, which they would later aim to sell.
After enjoying the sights of the tour, it was down to work. The project brief included; developing a business plan for the sale of Jaguar cars in the region, along with costs, merchandise and a dealership website showcasing their services. At the end of the week the five groups had a chance to impress; BXL’s Jim Wilkins (Education Partnership Centre) and two other judges from the school, with their finished projects.
The winning group ‘Altus’ offered up professional merchandise and a professional presentation to match. Their company provided two services; customised Jaguar cars and a Jaguar car chauffeur service. The week long visit to the prestigious car company was enjoyed by all and because of the high standard of work demonstrated, the students from Harborne Academy received points towards their BTEC qualifications.
BXL & BCFC Enterprise Day
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Birmingham City FC teams up with BXL… Fifteen fortunate Year 8 students from both Turves Green Girls’ and Turves Green Boys’ Schools were invited along to train with Birmingham City Football Club’s young sports stars of tomorrow. This unique enterprise event was designed by BXL to benefit both the pupils and young players. The pupils, avid football fans themselves, gained a lot from the event which developed their business skills. They also got a chance to quiz the young footballers with their questions on the industry and what career options are available after a rewarding career on the pitch is over. The club psychologist for BCFC, Tom Bates, was keen that the young players he works with at the academy got involved with the community. As part of the academy induction, players are trained to deal with media, how to live a healthy lifestyle and the importance of social responsibility. Tom Bates went on to comment that; “The day was a huge success for both the children and our young professionals. The players were able to offer advice on persisting through challenges and the importance of having the right attitude in life.” The enterprise day was centred on the ‘One Water Foundation’ providing pumps in Africa through mineral water sales. So, as well as having a fun day off from their daily routine of school or training, both players and pupils learnt about a worthwhile cause. Click here to find out more about the day. |
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