Ms Drapela (Careers and Sixth Form Administrator)

At the start of the week we were joined by Young Enterprise, who facilitated an event for our Year 9 students, focusing on skills development and financial education.

We began the event with a workshop exploring types of jobs, dream lifestyles, and cost of living. This led into a fun team building activity, involving marshmallows and spaghetti, where students were asked to build the tallest, most stable and cost-effective tower. Students were left with the sense of how important budgeting can be, having had to track resources, cost and time.

After a short break, student groups were tasked with creating their own business and preparing a plan for product development, marketing, and events. Groups were eager to start, already hard at work actively communicating about which of their teammates would represent which department, brainstorming ideas for names and design, and deliberating costs and loans.

It finally came to the moment where each group was asked to prepare an elevator pitch to their fellow peers. Students blew everyone away with their impressive entrepreneurial skills, making very enticing pitches. It was a wonder to see the creative collaboration and detailed work each group put in, with businesses, such as Cellfie a phone repair shop, and Snack Man a place to play arcade games while enjoying tasty snacks. All groups were asked to create logos, but many also included other visual aids like mood boards, floor plans, clothing lines and menus. Some even tried their hand at creating commercials and video adverts promoting their products.

It was a morning spent well, a time where students were able to build careers knowledge and develop key skills. Perhaps we will see many of these businesses come alive in the future!