Thirteen teams from Bristol’s secondary schools have been selected as finalists of the RSG 2012 Bristol Young Student of the Year awards.
Nearly three-quarters of Bristol’s secondary schools signed up to take part in the awards, which aim to create employment opportunities across the city by pairing students with businesses.
The judges had some tough decisions to make due to the high standard of entry in the third and final stage of the competition.
The finalists are:
- Teams Artemis and APS from Ashton Park Sixth Form
- Certified, from Castle School Sixth Form
- Building Bridges from Downend Post 16
- Inspire from Marlwood School
- Patchway Power 4 from Patchway Community College
- SBL from EXCEL
- SGS Success from South Gloucestershire and Stroud College
- Victorious from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College
- Infinity from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College
- Aspire – St Brendan’s Sixth Form College
- Victorious – St Brendan’s Sixth Form College
- Team Evolve from St Katherine’s Sixth Form
Now in its second year, the competition aims to bridge the gap between employers and young people and is open to 16-19 year olds.
It is free to enter for all state schools, colleges and academies in the Bristol region. This year, more than 100 students from 16 participating schools entered – almost double the number that took part in last year’s inaugural competition.
Run over six months, the competition has three stages and gives students with opportunity to win a life-changing £15,000 BPP University College scholarship alongside a number of other prizes including internships, work placements and jobs.
The theme for this year’s competition is Bristol Young Futures, which involves pairing students with real clients from key industry sectors in Bristol and creating a concept that feeds directly into a dedicated online portal showcasing career opportunities available to young people in the region.
Organisers hope it will help address the rising levels of unemployment within this age group in the local area.
Clifton-based national recruitment company Resource Solutions Group (RSG) is the competition’s founding and main sponsor. Bristol Business News is delighted to support the competition by being a media partner.
RSG chief executive Mike Beesley said: “We have been inspired by the high level of business and creative acumen that has been on display throughout the first stages of the competition and are really excited to see what these final 13 teams are set to produce.
“In a competition such as this, where students can immerse themselves in the business world yet retain the necessary support and guidance from their schools we can effectively increase commercial awareness in young people that will be of benefit both to their future and that of the UK economy.
“We are delighted that schools across the city have recognised the importance and effectiveness of this event and its significance in today’s economic climate.”
Awards founder and event organiser Elaine Brown added: “As a group of employers who organise this competition, we recognise the importance of developing employability skills in young people. We are delighted to receive such enthusiasm and support this year, which is testament to the ongoing commitment of people from all areas of business and education to ensure a brighter employment future for all our young people.”
The winner of last year’s Bristol Young Student award 17-year-old Harrison Trapnell is employed part-time by RSG as administrator on this year’s competition.
Harrison said: “It was fantastic to be part of the first ever competition, and to win the overall award and BPP scholarship was such an honour. I learnt a great deal from the process.”
Helen Stock from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College, which has three teams through to the final, said: “This is already a great result for the college and we are very happy to see our students applying themselves so efficiently to the tasks and challenges in hand.
“It can take many years in industry to learn commercial skills, so a competition of this nature is extremely effective in introducing student to the business world. We wish all students entering the best of luck and hope that they will make the most of this opportunity and all it has to offer.”
