On Wednesday 7 June, the Lower Sixth took part in the annual Business and Enterprise Day, as part of their Futures Week. The day is designed to encourage the students to be enterprising and to develop some of the key soft-skills required for the world of work. In what is a mixture between “The Apprentice” and “Dragons’ Den”, students are split up into teams of 10 and are required to develop a business plan or solve a particular problem. This year the challenge was to pitch a vision of the redevelopment of the Sixth Form Centre. Students had to create a brief of their vision, and pitch their idea to leading professionals in the architecture and construction industries. In the morning the teams brainstormed their ideas and undertook independent research into a wide range of areas in the construction industry. They then had to create a “Mood Board” of their designs and plans along with one minute Tik-Tok style promotional video of their concept. The key part of the day was the students’ pitch to professionals who grilled them on the practicalities of their ideas. Dominic Leaver (Chartered Architect and OE), Luke Hardware (Senior Director of construction company Progress Systems), and Paul Rose (CEO of PMR Architecture), graciously gave up their time to judge the students and provide an insight into the world of architecture and construction. The highlight of the day was the final head-to-head presentation of the two leading ideas, where the group lead by Angus Barclay Watt won the Enterprise Shield for the best design concept of a sustainable redesign of the Sixth Form.
