Earlier in the week, Y8 students (currently embarking on their new Y9 timetable), had  the opportunity to work in small, non-friendship groups to learn more about the world of work and start to think about the transferable skills they need to develop for the future.

This follows on from the teambuilding activities that were delivered by the same organisation last summer, and it was interesting to see how many of the young people had grown in confidence and were able to communicate more effectively.

Facilitators commented specifically on how engaged students were during the tasks and were very impressed by many of the ideas the teams came up with.

Students had to rebrand a gift card which was based around ‘saving the oceans from plastic’ and then buy resources to design and create a holder for the gift card.
Each team looked at how effective the logo was; developed a slogan and identified famous people that might be willing to endorse their product, for example David Attenborough. They were provided with a money float and used their skills to negotiate the best price to purchase materials, and then sold their final product back to the shop to make a profit.

Careers Lead, Mrs Taylor said: “We were delighted to welcome back the team from Bright Futures, who delivered another innovative activity for our young people. We recognise the importance of providing opportunities for students to identify their own abilities and learn about the key skills that will be useful to them when they enter a competitive jobs market in years to come. The activities helped students think about the costs involved in starting your own business and how their attitudes and skills can contribute to them being successful.

The tasks linked to numeracy and literacy and also highlighted the need for sustainability and to be aware of the environment around us.

I would also like to extend my thanks to all the staff who encouraged the teams throughout the challenges and supported the students as they completed their work”