A taste of the world of work, as NatWest helps Year 9 students from Harrow Way to come “Face 2 Face with Finance”

On July 8th it was once more time for a combination of menus, calculators, computers and vivid imaginations, as Year 9 students took on the challenge of their first Enterprise Day, fulfilling the roles of catering companies tendering for contracts to run a school prom.

Arranged in collaboration with Tracy Marlow of First Partnership, the event was again led by Lorraine Sears from NatWest, who provided all the necessary financial advice and guidance. The students were set the task of working in groups to cost, plan, design and organise suitable menus and activities. At the end of their tough day’s work the students presented their tenders to a panel of assessors who judged them on their quality and value for money.

The event was part of NatWest Moneysense for Schools, a national programme set up by the Bank to develop business, financial and enterprise skills among young people.

Commenting on the event, presenter Lorraine Sears, NatWest’s Moneysense Coach for the area, said: “We’ve had a really successful day and I have been impressed by the creativity and business understanding shown by the students. The importance of financial capability for young people cannot be underestimated, as it’s essential that they are equipped with the skills and confidence required to make decisions in adult life.”

Tony Parsons, Assistant Headteacher, continued: “We were delighted to welcome Lorraine back to the school to lead the event again this year. The students really got involved in all aspects of the challenge and they produced some excellent team presentations. This activity is extremely practical with the emphasis on fun throughout, bringing to life the importance of teamwork, communication and enterprise skills, which all our students will eventually need in the workplace. All the teams deserve credit because they did an excellent job.”

The winning team, ‘The Catering Crew’ is pictured left.

Note:

Moneysense for Schools has been developed with teachers to help secondary schools and colleges teach personal money management and enterprise skills within the curriculum. It consists of a series of modules (“We’re in Business” being one of them), each of which can stand-alone or be used in conjunction with others. It aims to engage young people in a variety of role playing scenarios and other interactive learning exercises to give them experience of making financial decisions.

Any schools or colleges wanting to find out more about the Moneysense for Schools programme, how to get the free materials or how to get the support of a NatWest member of staff, should contact Lorraine Sears, NatWest’s Regional Moneysense Coach, on 07795 238219, or visit the website at www.natwest.com/moneysenseforschools.

To complete the Year 9 enterprise activities for this year, Friday 10th July became the “BITZA Enterprise Challenge Day.”

All Year 9 students took the opportunity to try out the business expertise they had gained on Wednesday by getting their teeth into the BITZA Challenge, arranged in close liaison with First Partnership (www.firstpartnership.com) The students were required to work in groups to design, cost, manufacture and advertise an educational toy, using only the variety of bits and pieces they were able to “buy” from the “suppliers”, but only after having arranged the necessary loans from the BITZA Bank. Two members of each group acted as accountants while the others worked on the design, marketing and production of the toys. The groups then had to attempt to present and sell their toys to “clients” by giving a short sales pitch to the facilitators, from which the winning team was eventually selected.

Amongst the various key areas of enterprise activity, this whole-day event encouraged teamwork and problem solving. Building on their previous experience students learned more about the way business operates and throughout the day there was a real buzz of activity, as the students clearly found the project completely engaging. Some were so enthusiastic about their projects that they even worked on through their lunch breaks!

Tracy Marlow, of First Partnership, commented, “It is always a real pleasure to work with Harrow Way. The students were very amiable and all worked impressively to produce some great ideas.”

Mr Parsons, Assistant Headteacher said, “This was the last enterprise event for this school year so it was great to finish with another enormously successful event. Well done to the winning team (pictured right)and to all the Year 9 students who took part. They really did themselves proud. I’d like to say a special thank you to Tracy from First Partnership and to all the “clients”, who supported the teams throughout the day, and were all business professionals whose employers had kindly allowed them to give their time to support the event. There were representatives from AimHigher, Ametek, Andover College, Andover Adult and Family Learning, Barclays, First Partnership, Hampshire Connexions, Homebase, Newbury Building Society, Office Depot and SimplyHealth

A grateful “thank you” to them all.