Sir Philip Green's fashion school set to expand Speaking at the annual degree awards for the London college, Sir Philip said that he wanted to keep the "momentum going" for the academy which has grown from offering two courses to offering ten from the autumn. Hundreds of students cheered at the awards when the special guest to give the Retail Academy Commitment Award was revealed as the pop star, Rita Ora, The present 740 students who study courses in fashion design, merchandising and finance will be added to over the next two years. Kim Longman, the chairman of the academy's governors, confirmed the expansion plans at the college which is backed by retailers Arcadia, of which Sir Philip is the proprietor, Marks and Spencer, Next and Tesco. "If you saw what we've managed to do here you can see what can be done," Sir Philip said. Over 8 years its smooth, it runs properly as a business and as an academic [institution], we've got the retailers on board, which is as it should be. We want to keep the momentum here and hope people can learn from what we do. There can never be a better time for young people to come into the business. Us old guys need new talent. Ms Longman said that the academy's business unit was looking at overseas expansion. She revealed that the unit was already giving advice to a major South African retailer on merchandising and had received inquiries from Turkey, Greece and the Middle East. The academy will not offer courses but will offer their internal expertise which will be sold as a way of creating revenue for the academy. "Having that dialogue is important for us," Sir Philip said.