The surprise arrival of pop star Gary Barlow as the guest of honour may have won the loudest cheer from students at this year’s Retail Fashion Academy Awards, but the greatest achievement of the school and its driving force Sir Philip Green remains the enormous coalition of retailers that supports this centre of excellence. 

A total of 105 retail names now contribute to the RFA in one form or another, 70% of whose graduates go straight out of the Academy and into a job. 

Allied to the passion, innovation and hard work that was on show as this year’s crop of students graduated, this foresight to invest in the next generation of shopkeepers is a testament to British retail’s continued ability to shape its own destiny and provide opportunity for the young.