This year “Take a Risk” our Business competition at Ardingly College proved again very popular and we had 43 Lower Sixth students taking part. The competition is open to whole of the Lower Sixth whether they are IB or A level/BTEC students and they don’t need to be studying business to enter. This creates a very healthy competitive atmosphere amongst the teams and this year it was particularly true as we had a nail biting finish. Our judges in the presentation evening struggled to separate the teams as there were some excellent business plans and powerfully delivered presentations.
The overall winner after much agonising by the judges was finally declared to be the team Viro with the idea of a carefully researched and innovative technological device to provide information to car drivers about vehicle taxes, depreciation and fuel costs. The winning team’s plan was to encourage drivers and car manufacturers to make more environmentally friendly choices.
The members of the winning team Viro were Ryan A, Ginny S, Gustav R, Oliver C, Nikita D and Luke G (as seen in photo with the judges James Johnson, Elizabeth Ewen and Paul Segal standing behind)
We also saw great ideas from other teams such as a multi-use electronic device targeted for teenagers rooms , a massaging backpack, a protein café/ restaurant aimed at gym users, a verification software product to stop bots mass purchasing in online markets, a physical device to compress waste in your wheely bins and a portable LED light system for displays in rented offices.
During their final presentations teams faced difficult questions from the panel of judges and this led them having to think very quickly on their feet and we had several humorous answers as teams adjusted or clarified their positions. It is also a useful experience that all students can refer to in their personal statements for university applications next year as they will be able to demonstrate their commitment to activities outside of the classroom. We are very grateful to all the external mentors and judges who gave so generously of their time.
