Victory for tech-savvy students

Creative studies students at Clarendon Sixth Form College have been awarded a cheque for £2000 by Digital Advantage, an education company to help make their proposed business idea a reality.

A team of ten students from the college came first in the company’s enterprise competition 2018 after creating ‘Heat’, a high-end fashion business.

Ezra Rushen, director and training manager at Digital Advantage, spent five days working with the students to help them design a pitch for the business.

The students created a website for their business, a video pitch using their editing skills and used the photography studio at Clarendon Sixth Form College to create high quality images of their potential products. They also developed a model app to demonstrate the potential for future growth in the digital sector.

The judges for the competition final, which took place in May, were impressed with the students’ hard work and the depth of research which was gathered to create the pitch.

Ezra, said: “The students really embraced the cause and grew massively during the five days I worked with them. For us, as trainers that’s key. The judges saw that they had put a lot of effort into creating the different types of media and delving into building a business model. Well done to the Clarendon Sixth Form College team.”

The annual enterprise competition is a nationwide initiative offering colleges and other education organisations the chance to win grants for their business ideas. Now that the students have received their cheque, they will also receive support and guidance from Ezra and the Digital Advantage team on how best to maximise its benefit.

Ruth James, curriculum leader for creative studies at Clarendon Sixth Form College, said: “This is a fantastic achievement for these students. They have done so well to go through the workshop, create all these amazing pieces to the puzzle that have made ‘Heat’ and then gone on to win a national competition. That is something to be really proud of and that they can use to their benefit for the rest of their lives and careers.”

To find out more about creative studies subjects at Clarendon Sixth Form College, call 0161 908 6800.