All Year 12 pupils spend three days at Patterdale Hall in the
Lake District on the Business Awareness course, run by Brian Muir
from BEAT (Business Enterprise & Awareness Training). The aim
of the programme is to introduce pupils to the concepts behind
commerce and business and to practise the skills required to
survive both in the world of work and in an enterprise situation.
Representatives from companies such as Coca-Cola, Milliken
Industrials, United Utilities, PricewaterhouseCoopers and BT are
invited to give a series of engaging seminars on topics such as
Sales, Production, Marketing and Management. Pupils are confronted
by a range of problem-solving and group tasks - the most
challenging (and competitive!) of which requires them to design a
raft to transport an egg down the rocky rapids of Grisedale
Beck.
Teaching staff run a skills training event, designed to
introduce pupils to the types of tasks used by graduate recruiters,
such as group discussions, giving a mini talk as well as practising
telephone and interview skills.
The focus of the course is the individual group PowerPoint
presentation of an e-business plan. The two best groups chosen from
the Boys' Division take their ideas forward and compete against two
teams from the Girls' Division in the final of the Business
Competition, sponsored by Langtree Homes.
BEAT is a superb opportunity for pupils to broaden their
vocational awareness and transferable skills required for success
in the world of work.