Ryman National Enterprise Challenge at The Grove School Market Drayton

Four local business leaders were recently selected as ‘Dragons’ to judge the regional heats of the Ryman National Enterprise Challenge at The Grove School in Market Drayton.  Eva Davé owner of Mincher-Lockett & Co Opticians, Charlotte Hollins Manager of Fordhall Farm, Rebecca Greenhalgh an Education Consultant and Julia Roberts Director of Rocket Communications Ltd; who is also the founder of the Ginger and Spice Festival all took part on Thursday 9th May 2019 to judge the 7 ‘real life’ business pitches set as the contest challenge by The National Enterprise Challenge and UCFB – the inspiration learning group.

The challenge which is also supported by long standing partner Ryman and entrepreneur, Theo Paphitis, took place over the course of a day at The Grove School. Students were asked to collaborate in teams of six and work on a fun and engaging real life business presentation in response to a challenge set. Students split into two categories; and seven groups were selected to present in front of the local ‘Dragons’.

Eva Dave of Mincher-Lockett & Co Opticians said: ‘‘It was a pleasure being one of the Dragons for The Grove School. I think the children did extremely well pitching their ideas and collaborating together as teams. Public speaking and presenting is something most people try to avoid as it’s nerve wracking and scary. Yet despite obvious nerves these children got up, in front of their peers and communicated their messages and ideas brilliantly. I think it was important for the students to see a group of successful female entrepreneurs and realise that we all have our own stories and that our success has come from hard work; and feeling the fear and doing it anyway! There were certainly some budding entrepreneurs at The Grove and I wish them luck at Wembley.’’

Julia Roberts of Rocket Communications Ltd said: ‘‘It was wonderful to see the local secondary school embracing opportunities in which their students can learn and develop business skills which can equip them for their future. Having a real life example of how learning applies to the business world and developing the skills you need to succeed is vitally important.’’

The winning team, ‘Team R’, were chosen by the dragons for their emphasis on brand storytelling, good presentation skills and obvious research and preparation. The all female ‘Team R’ will go onto the final at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 10th July 2019 which will include 1,500 challenge finalists from 235 schools in attendance. Celebrity duo Jordan Banjo & Perri Kiely are set to return too!

Sonia Taylor, Head of the Grove said, “This event is a great opportunity for our students to learn new skills and showcase them amongst their peers. The students worked well together and presented well to the panel of judges. Providing our students with challenges such as this ensures they are equipped to succeed in the future. I wish the teams the very best of luck in the next round of the competition at Wembley.’’

Posted by marchesadmin on 15th May 2019, under Uncategorised


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