Three groups of bright students from the Trust’s academies impressed the judges in this year’s summer edition of the Aspirations Employability Portfolio.
The finalists from Magna Academy, Park Academy, Space Studio Banbury and Wykham Park Academy, each presented their business projects in front of the judges, who had to select the winner of the Aspirations Employability Portfolio trophy and additional prizes.
This edition, Park Academy took the first place, with their ambitious business plan in partnership with Cucina. The five students, together with the company, focused on creating an optimal canteen for the academy and also built a business plan to tackle food waste.
Meanwhile, the team from Magna Academy presented a thorough business plan for a massage therapy and wellness store, called A Little Shop of Calm, tailored to suit their client, a teacher looking to build her start-up company.
Last, but not least, the team from Space Studio Banbury and Wykham Park Academy, sponsored by Greenpeace, dazzled the crowd with their amazing project on tacking environmental issues, such as plastic waste thrown in waters.
“It is amazing to see such well-thought project and such incredible ideas from our students and we are extremely impressed and proud of their achievements. It was very hard to pick a winner, as all the teams had such strong ideas and they all put in a lot of effort and had very good presentations,” says Caroline Barringer, Director of Employability and Central Administration, who was also one of the judged of this edition.
“We created the Aspirations Employability Portfolio for students to get experience in working in real-life situations and with professional clients to develop their skills for their future careers. Seeing all the students come up with such professional and well-thought projects makes us very proud and we are extremely happy to see the Trust’s vision come true through them,” she adds.
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