Last Tuesday Year 9 were given the opportunity to participate in the NatWest – Next Big Thing Challenge. The event was delivered by The Inspirational Learning Group.
The day began with a personality quiz where students discovered their ‘personality animal’. The quiz posed questions such as: Do you think before you speak or do you think out loud? Do you work better in a team or are you more comfortable working alone? Apparently if you get ‘Black Bear’ you’re a natural leader! The quiz helped the students decide who would take on which role within the team; who would lead, who would delegate tasks and who would motivate their team.
You can find out your own animal personality here: https://launchyourcareer.com/p/quiz
The students were then invited to think about what might be ‘the next best thing’ for their peers. Students were given lots of advice on marketing, money management, forecasting, choosing an ambassador, designing logos and coming up with slogans. Towards the end of the day students were able to present their business idea and act out the advert they had devised to promote it. Presented were a wide variety of unique ideas, such as: SOLVIT – a foldable shoe to save space; SWEETS 4 U – custom made sweets to order and SIMPLI FOOD – a lunch box that keeps your food warm!
Mrs Southwell and Mrs Clarke were given the difficult job of judging the fantastic ideas! TEAM were announced the overall winners with their business idea of a social media app focused on current issues where students are able to discuss and share their views, while being able to shop for ethical clothing and products. Well done to August, Oliver, Mason, Chloe, Ella and Eleanor form TEAM!
The students engaged well with the challenge and came up with some very exciting, innovative ideas. Well done Year 9!
