Year 7 and 8 entrepreneurial skills put to the test in the Bright Future Enterprise and Employability Workshop

As part of our extensive Careers and Future Skills Programme, Bright Futures Experience Ltd were once again invited into school to give an Enterprise and Employability Workshop for Year 7 at St Mary’s, followed by a Business and Employability Workshop for Year 8 students.

The Year 7s took part in an enterprise workshop in which they identified and practised the skills needed by entrepreneurs. In one strategic activity the students had to decide which team member would take on each of a series of mini challenges, and the order in which they would complete them - with the goal being to score the most points by using their leadership skills, problem-solving, delegating, and prioritisation.

One of the mini challenges is based on recognising objects from the natural world and for the first time ever, nationally, one of the teams scored a perfect 100%.

The Year 7 students described their morning with these comments:

"It helped me improve my teamwork, and I got to talk to different students."
“I enjoyed working to a tight deadline”.
“I liked learning about entrepreneurship through fun activities”.
"It was a brilliant morning, and everyone thought it was great fun."
 

Year 8's Business and Employability workshop focussed on the re-branding of a product and then manufacturing and selling products during a trading activity. All of the teams came up with interesting concepts during the re-branding exercise and it was great to see the students' energy and creativity when manufacturing and selling their products to a strict deadline. The students also showed excellent sales and negotiation skills when they were carrying out transactions.

These tasks not only modelled real-world business concept and scenarios, but also allowed students to practice the skills essential in workplaces, including time management, communication skills and teamwork.

In summarising their experience, they agreed that: 

“We learnt how to create and design a brand and learnt how to make a profit.”
“We liked the time management and experiencing the pressure of the workplace.”
“ Designing a captivating logo was a challenge.”

Find out more about the careers programme we offer for each Year Group in the Senior School and Sixth Form.