Year 10 take part in Academic Curriculum Enrichment (ACE) activity day

As part of the Academic Curriculum Enrichment (ACE) activity day on 28 January, Year 10 students had a Careers day which centred on an Employability Skills and Financial Awareness workshop run by Bright Futures.

The girls were divided into teams of 5 and their first task of the day was the Moneybox Challenge. This was actually a series of challenges about money and finances that took place at the same time, and it was essential for the girls to divide the tasks up amongst their team to achieve maximum effectiveness. One team achieved one of the highest scores that Bright Futures had seen in their nine years of running this event nationwide. 

The girls then undertook a recruitment exercise where they had to shortlist two candidates to interview, out of six applications for a TV Production Assistant, explaining why they had made their selection. They then saw the feedback from each interview and learnt what employers are looking for and how they should positively present themselves at an interview.

Next came the ‘Rollercoaster Design Competition’ where the teams were tasked to design the longest ride for a marble. The exercise taught the girls effective team working, working to deadlines, and the importance of following instructions – e.g. they were told that it was essential to keep testing their rollercoaster every time they added a new section, and those that did were ultimately more successful.

The last activity of the day was ‘The Art of Negotiation’ exercise, in which the girls had to approach members of staff, shake their hands, make eye contact, introduce themselves with small talk, and then try to negotiate a deal for the items they wanted to buy. Some were more successful than others and it was another valuable learning experience. It was an excellent day: the interactive format helped to keep the girls enthused and focused while learning valuable employability skills for their future.