ENTREPRENEURIAL students at a Rugby secondary school have shared their business ideas in Dragons’ Den style pitches.
As part of their course, Year 10 business studies students from The Avon Valley School and Performing Arts College have recently been in ‘The Den’.
Over the last year the students, who study the OCR Cambridge National in Marketing and Enterprise, have been developing their business ideas whilst following a scenario set out by their exam board.
As part of their assessment, the students had to develop a new product for a fictitious pizza business before delivering their ideas to an external panel who formally witness each student’s presentation.
The role of the ‘Dragons’ was filled by members of the Rugby Rokeby Lions, who gave up their time to listen to the students’ pitches and support their studies.
Charlotte Gore, Faculty Leader for Computing and Business, said: “To develop their product, the students have chosen a segment of the market, identified potential customers, completed market research, used creative skills to design their product, and assessed the product’s financial viability.
“The students have also designed a brand image including logo, strapline and celebrity endorsement, and have created a promotional campaign. All of this information is then shared in a business presentation to a panel of people they’ve not met before. This helps to build confidence and gives them a unique opportunity to showcase their talents.”
John Nelson, President of Rugby Rokeby Lions, said: ‘We are always inspired by the enthusiasm and the creativity of these young people. We wish them every success for the future.”
Headteacher Alison Davies said: “This is an excellent opportunity for our students to gain experience that supports their learning, and to develop employability skills that will be useful to them in the future.
“We are very grateful to the Lions for coming into school to work with, and support, our students. I am delighted to hear that our students gave a good account of themselves during their pitches.”
