Business & Enterprise Events
Young Enterprise - Company Programme
The Young Enterprise Company Programme gives our Year 10 students the opportunity to set up and run their own company for a year. They start by selling shares to friends and family to raise their start up capital which they use to invest in their chosen products or service which they sell at various events throughout the year. The aim is to return a profit for their shareholders by the end of the year.
Through running their company students gain an understanding and knowledge of running a business and develop some key enterprise skills along the way.
Our 2011/12 Young Enterprise teams are called Alpha and Eureka. Both teams recently attended the Christmas Trade Fair which was held at the Meadows Shopping Centre in Chelmsford where they were in competition with other Schools from across Essex. They had to sell their products to the general public and were assessed by a panel of judges throughout the day. Three prizes were awarded on the day, Best Customer Service, Best Trade Stand and Best Overall Company and we were delighted when Alpha were awarded the prize of Best Overall Company.
Business Studies Day
In February each year we hold a Business Challenge Day for our Year 9 & 10 Business Studies students called "Dragons Den", based on the hit TV show.
Following an introduction to the day, students are divided into teams of 8 in preparation for the "6 Missions" of business plan construction:-
1. Product Idea
2. Unique Selling Point
3. Marketing
4. Financial Planning
5. Presentation Skills
6. Competition
Teams have to invent or innovate a new product, business or service which they have to present to a panel of judges at the end of the day.
Last year to kickstart the day Fraser Doherty from SuperJam came into school to deliver a motivational speech to our students about his success story. SuperJam is a range of 100% pure fruit jams; sweetened with grape juice and made using Super Fruits, such as blueberries and cranberries.
Fraser created SuperJam after being taught to make jam using his Gran's secret recipes at the age of fourteen. Fraser has won a variety of awards and is event included in a museum exhibit as an example of an "Iconic Scottish Food Brand".
New York Business Studies Trip 2011
On arrival at School at 5.00am on Tuesday, 10th May, 17 excited students and 2 members of staff boarded the coach to Heathrow to catch our flight to JFK Airport New York,
Once we had checked in to our hotel, The Hotel Grand Union situated in Midtown Manhattan, we set out to explore Central Park until the time came for our evening visit to New York's tallest building, the Empire State Building. We took the lift to the 86th floor where on the observation deck you can see the amazing views of NYC for miles around.
Early the following day we took the subway to Wall Street in Lower Manhattan and walked to Battery Park to take the Ferry to Liberty Island to visit the Statue of Liberty. On the way back from the statue the ferry stopped at the Immigration Museum on Ellis Island where, between 1892 and 1954 over 12 million people arrived at Ellis Island from other countries in search of freedom and new economic opportunities in America. After Ellis Island we took the Ferry back to Wall Street to walk through this famous financial district. We saw the New York Stock Exchange and stopped to pay our respects at Ground Zero. To end the day we took the subway to Canal Street and walked through to Chinatown stopping then at Little Italy for something to eat.
On Thursday, we had a Business Studies workshop and tour of Madam Tussauds, part of the highly successful Merlin Group. We heard about their marketing strategies and plans for growth. That evening we all got dressed up to go to Times Square and Broadway where we had dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner with their singing waitresses and waiters and saw the brilliant show "Wicked".
On our last day we took the subway back to Times Square to end our trip with another Business studies workshop Macy's the world's largest store looking at merchandising concepts, visual techniques, marketing and recruitment before heading back to the hotel to get our coach to JFK for our evening flight home.
Overall a very tiring but exhilarating four days!
Business & Enterprise Day
Each year we hold a Business & Enterprise Day where all students work off timetable to take part in activities that develop their understanding of business and develop their enterprise skills such as problem solving, teamwork, communication and many more. Last year this was held on Friday 1st July 2011.
165 Year 7 students left school bright and early to Boulogne, France, by coach on the Eurotunnel. The itinerary for the day included; Bec a Suc, a sweet factory, where students got to see how sweets are made and taste some samples which proved to be very popular!; A traditional family run Bakery where students made their own croissants using an 80 year old wood fired oven; A guided tour of Chocolats de Buessent, a chocolate factory in the rural Course valley; and a traditional pancake house where students tested their cooking skills making their own pancakes.
200 of our year 8 & 9 students went to Stubbers Activity Centre in Upminster. Students had to work in teams on various challenges and activities throughout the day, all designed to develop their leadership, communication, problem solving and motivational skills.
Students who remained in school didn't miss out either. Year 7 students worked in teams of 8 and each team represented a country competing in the 2012 Olympic Games. They were given a limited amount of information and had to design an Olympic Opening Ceremony that represented their nominated country and plan how they would sell tickets in order to make a profit. The day culminated in each team performing their Ceremony to a panel of judges and presenting their marketing and finance plans.
Year 8 & 9 students who remained in school worked in teams of 8 and took part in a series of quick-fire challenges, each one delivering unique skills. The teams had to complete a number of tasks:
Restaurateur: Students has to consider the local area to select an ideal location for a new restaurant. Decide upon a cuisine theme & dining style, a business name and design a launch menu.
Fitness Fanatic: - Students had to define their target market and an appropriate name. Decide on the facilities they would offer and membership deals and plan a promotional party to attract new customers.
Visualise: - Students had to devise and create the front cover of their own magazine, decide upon a theme and name. Find out trends, and design their own font style and logo.
In the riveting finale teams had to select one of their completed programs and present their ‘pitch' to the judges.
Year 9 Mock Interview Day
This year we held a Mock Interview Day for our Year 9 students on Friday 24th February. The aim of which was to give students the opportunity to practice their interview skills and receive feedback from one of our business volunteers. Over 40 volunteers came into school for this event from local businesses such as Essex & Suffolk Water, HSBC, HMRC, Essex Police, the RAF, BT to name just a few!
Students completed a CV and an Application Form which was given to their interviewer beforehand. They were then given a 30 minute interview where they could practice generic interview skills, they were given feedback on the completion of their paperwork and how they conducted themselves during the interview. This gave them an excellent opportunity to gain some valuable feedback to help with their studies and prepare them for future college and/or job interviews.
Students came into school in very smart business attire, appropriate for an interview, and were extremely nervous. The feedback we received from our volunteers was very positive and they were impressed at the confident and mature manner of our students.
School Money
We are working with our local NatWest branch to run School Money, a school bank service run by and for our students.
The service allows students to open a real NatWest bank account suitable for their age at school, and to bring money into school to pay into their account. To withdraw money they need to visit a local branch or visit an ATM (if parents agree to a cashcard). For more information please go to www.natwest.com/adapt.
This service gives students first-hand experience of managing money. It provides the foundation for the continued experience of having a bank account and managing their own finances.
The bank is run by our Year 9 students. We advertised the positions, Cashiers, Marketing Executives and Customer Service Assistants, and interested students had to fill in an application form and attend an interview. Seven students were selected to run the branch each week on Monday at lunchtime.
Fair Trade/Healthy Eating Tuck Shop
During Year 7 students get the opportunity to run a Fair Trade/Healthy Eating Tuck Shop at lunchtimes. Students apply for a position within the shop and attend an interview, they then have to select and purchase a range of Fair Trade/Healthy Eating products which they can sell to fellow students.
This project gives our key stage 3 students experience of how to run a business from deciding on a suitable product range through to marketing and financial management. All profits go to charity.
Visit to Cambridge University
Emmanuel College, Cambridge University invited us to take a group of high achieving students to take part in a Challenge Day on 23rd January 2012. We took 14 students who are all on track to achieve a minimum of 5 A*/A grade GCSEs.
The Appleton School were invited to take a small group of high achieving Year 10 students to Emmanuel College, Cambridge University to take part in a Challenge day competing against other schools from across the country. Students got to hear all about university life from undergraduates, did a tour of the campus and took part in two lectures, one on English literature and one on "How to freeze a frog"!.
Students had to complete a questionnaire throughout the day based on their understanding of the lectures as well as some general knowledge and lateral thinking questions. The University calculated the average mark from each school and we were placed 3rd out of the 10 schools that took part.
The day served to dispel some of the myths surrounding Cambridge and encouraged the students to think about going on to Higher Education.
