Shell Business Challenge
The Shell Business Challenge forms part of the College’s vision of providing an outstanding Education for Life and sees the entire year group thinking like marketers and entrepreneurs as they produce team solutions to a business challenge.
Pupils were presented with a choice of objects and tasked with creating a business based on a product derived from their chosen item. The emphasis of the day is to help the pupils develop employability skills such as teamwork, communication and creative thinking. Once they had developed their ideas, pupils created a business plan and an advert to pitch their product. The year group had taken part in a branding and marketing workshop and were asked to think about costs, market segment, competition and targeting customers. It was wonderful to receive the support of ten Shell parents who acted as both mentors and judges.
The ideas that the Shell pupils produced were both innovative and creative which just goes to show what our pupils can produce when given the freedom of the College to create their marketing materials. The presentations, logos, websites, business and finance plans, marketing campaigns, social media accounts and advertisements were of an extremely high standard; a true sign of how much the pupils gained from the experience.
Our Horizons team selected five finalists who all delivered excellent presentations and had creative business ideas ranging from a fashionable multi-purpose torch, a music festival, a bespoke computer mouse and a high-end fashion business selling scarves made from Peruvian Vicuna wool. The overall winners of the Shell Business Challenge 2023 were the team who developed ‘Willow the Walrus’ – a multifunctional toy and tray to keep children amused and adults happy.
Old Bradfieldian Advice Panel
It was an honour to welcome back Bradfieldians from the Class of 2017 to reflect on their early careers with the current Sixth Form. Their stories and experiences of the world of work were interesting and entertaining in equal parts. All had overcome hurdles or unexpected changes to their plans and stressed the importance of embracing change while not being frightened to try something new.
An initial post as Personal Assistant to a famous actor led one Bradfieldian on to her dream job as a hair and make-up artist on sets for blockbuster movies. Another took a completely different path away from the academic route and went straight into the world of work. He is now travelling the world as a Director for the start-up he joined as an intern. All experienced the harsh realities of the pandemic with one working in intensive care at the Royal Berks. We had Bradfieldians from Deloitte and Savills and one is on his way to becoming a barrister.
All the panellists stressed how much their communication skills helped with their careers particularly with networking and job interviews. They talked up the importance of making the right choice for you and not just choosing what your friends are doing. They also encouraged pupils to make the most of the work ready/soft skills workshops while still in school, stating: “You’ll never know who you will impress with your ability to get up in front of a room of professionals to give a presentation.”
We look forward to inviting the Class of 2018 leavers back next year.
Networking with Professionals
Our first Meet the Professionals Networking evening of the academic year took place in November and our pupils were fortunate to be able to converse with thirty professionals representing a range of sectors from banking, motorsports and business start-ups to web design, I.T. and accountancy.
Sixth Form pupils, as well as some Fifth Formers, had the opportunity to talk to alumni, parents and local partners about their career journeys to date. Some of the professionals have worked in a similar field for their entire careers whereas others have taken paths that have morphed into a variety of roles and sectors.
These events offer pupils the chance to talk to individuals who work in an area that they may be considering as a future pathway or want to find out more about. It is also a chance to discover a role, function or industry they had not yet considered, enabling them to broaden their horizons. Over recent years we have been lucky enough to have many alumni join the event including several recent leavers.
The art of networking is a skill that we hope each pupil will start to learn and to understand its importance before they enter the world of work. A huge thank you to all the professionals and pupils for supporting the evening.
