Sir Rod Aldridge, a vacational resident at La Zagaleta, knighted for his services to young people at Queen's New Year's Honours List

Rod Aldridge was awarded a Knighthood in the Queen´s New Year´s Honours List. The citation is for the work of his Foundation and for services to young people. Rod is the Founder of the Capita Group Plc ,which he took from a start up business to being a FTSE 100 company on the London Stock Exchange. Upon his retirement five years ago, he established The Aldridge Foundation, an educational charity sponsoring Entrepreneurial Academies in the UK. It currently has five Academies based in the northwest, the south, and in London - one of the academies is the school he attended as a boy.

Sir Rod Aldridge said, "I am delighted by this news and deeply honoured by the recognition of my work for young people - something which is of great importance to me. I am particularly proud that this highlights the work of The Aldridge Foundation, which aims to improve educational performance through the development of an entrepreneurial approach to life by young people. I do think that an entrepreneurial mindset gives people the life skills to achieve whatever it is they want to achieve, and take control of their life. We want our academies to give people opportunities they would otherwise not have.”

In addition to his work through the Foundation, Sir Rod is a Patron and former trustee of The Prince’s Trust and a member of the Council that HRH Prince of Wales has established to oversee the work of all of his charities. He is also Chair of The Lowry, the arts and entertainment venue in Salford. and of Acorn Education, a leading Special Education Needs and fostering business with 14 schools around the UK.

The award follows the Personal Contribution To Education Award made to Sir Rod at the Education Investor Awards in November 2011, and a period in which the Foundation and the academies have received a good deal of public recognition for improved educational performance and community regeneration. For more information on Sir Rod and The Aldrige Foundation, please visit www.aldridgefoundation.com