Enterprise Day 2023
Preparing Year 9 students for modern working life, and providing them with the skills they’ll need to flourish in a continually evolving workplace, our Enterprise Day took place in School this week, purposely designed with this in mind. Students were tasked with an activity titled, ‘Ride Innovators: Design, Thrill, Pitch!’, designing the ultimate sustainable ride experience.
Dressed professionally to ensure they were in the correct mindset for the task in hand, Year 9 were asked to design a thrilling new theme park ride, incorporating sustainability in terms of materials and energy sources used.
Students attended skills workshops on creating a brand, sustainability, creating a prototype, presentation skills as well as a rollercoaster design and safety workshop which the company Aeralis delivered virtually. Miss Norman provided advice and guidance on leading a team, talking to the 14 teams of students about how to select and choose roles for your team, including a project manager, human resources manager, operations manager, marketing manager and assistant manager. The teams then identified their skills and split themselves into those different roles accordingly.
The day would ultimately end in them pitching their ideas to a ‘Dragon’s Den’, in order to secure investment. Pitches would include presentation of logos and brand image, alongside a written proposal explaining their concept in terms of safety, thrill factor, rider experience, environmental impact, accessibility and inclusivity. Students were also expected to submit a prototype of the ride as well as a trade stand for their project – it was no mean feat, the students were tested, under pressure and the watchful eye of their ‘Dragons’.
Introducing our ‘Dragons’:
Clive Schlee
• British businessman
• Former CEO of Pret a Manger
• Chair of the Seckford Foundation
Shona Norman
• Head of Woodbridge School
• Over 20 years’ teaching experience
• Third year as Head of School
Eric Zie
• CEO and Funder of GoCodeGreen
• A Google Brain award-winning technologist who decided to focus the experiences gained during his 25 year career in software design, architecture, and engineering to a new purpose and mission – to help decarbonise the digital world in which we all live in
• Parent of the school
Karl Hayward-Bradley
• Deputy Head Academic
• WoodbridgeCool Joy Architect
• 20 years’ teaching experience in UK and China
• Eight years as a Senior Leader
• Mathematician, problem solver, coherence maker
Competition was fierce, and so was commitment, but it was Hyperion who walked away with the investment thanks to their innovative ride experience with multiple layers of defence to ensure a thrilling but safe experience. So well done to Jack, Ella, Alex C, Freya and Alex B with their achievement, but also, well done to everyone else who took part, and a huge thank you to our ‘Dragons’.
