A Bristol school student who arrived in the city six years ago barely able to speak English has won a life-changing £18,000 scholarship in the RSG Bristol Young Student of the Year Awards.
Martin Marafko from Marlwood School won the two top awards in the pioneering scheme at its grand final last night – the scholarship with BPP University College in Bristol, and the Best Young Student Award, sponsored by Bristol recruitment firm RSG.
Martin, who is originally from Hungary, will use the scholarship to study business.
He said: “I am overwhelmed to have won. I can’t quite believe it. I have really enjoyed taking part in the competition and I will miss not being part of it next year.
“I would encourage anyone thinking about doing it, to take part. It has helped me develop in so many ways. I enjoyed taking part in all the master classes, and particularly liked meeting the mentors and clients for the first time. It was good to be thrown into the deep end like that. I would also like to thank my mentors for their help and advice over the last six months as well as my family for being extremely supportive and encouraging. This initiative will really compliment my studies and my future in the business sector.”
The six-month competition, which aims to bridge the gap between employers and young people in Bristol, was open to 16-19 year olds and was free to enter for all state schools, colleges and academies.
It was launched last year against a background of rising rates of youth unemployment.
Participants had to create and present ideas for a ground-breaking portal giving students access to real apprenticeships, work experience and job opportunities.
The teams of between two and four students then had to present their final ideas to a panel of high-profile business professionals. The students benefited from marketing and presentation master-classes and dress to impress sessions.
As well as the two top prizes won by Martin, there were a number of category awards.
Best Product Proposal, also sponsored by RSG, was a jointly awarded to the Inspire team from Marlwood School, Patchway Power 4 from Patchway Community College and Victorious from St Brendan’s Sixth Form College.
Best Overall Team Performance, sponsored by accountants Saffery Champness, was also a joint award, again going to Inspire and Patchway Power 4, while Artemis from Ashton Park School won Best Team Presentation, sponsored by Airbus.
In the individual awards Rosie Foale of Patchway Community College won Best Project Manager sponsored by StudyFlex, Kieran Grant Curtis of St Brendan’s Sixth Form College won Most Innovative Student sponsored by Nevard Roland, and Connor Davies of St Katherine’s School won the Most Improved Student category, sponsored by Brunel & Gordano Training.
The awards final was hosted by The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, at the Bristol Fashion Week Pavilion.
RSG chief executive Mike Beesely said: “We are extremely proud to be leading such a brilliant campaign which has an extremely serious issue at heart. As an organisation, youth unemployment is something we feel extremely strongly about. As the head of a national recruitment organisation I see every day the significant lack of commercial awareness there is in young people. Initiatives such as this directly address this issue, and the award winners demonstrate the raw, untapped talent that is directly on our door step.”
Competition founder and project director Elaine Brown added: “We are delighted that Martin has been awarded the scholarship. He has put in an incredible amount of work. He came up with all the original ideas have been the driving force behind his team. The quality of work produced by his team has been outstanding. He was proactive, creative and well-spoken and an excellent communicator. He is beyond his years in terms of his professional demeanour.
“We also want to congratulate all the other winners as well as all the participants over the past six months. Taking part in the competition alone will have set them apart from their competitors in the jobs market in the future.”
Originally launched as a pilot scheme for Bristol, the competition plans to roll out across the UK.
Bristol Business News was delighted to be a media partner and supporter of the RSG Bristol Young Student of the Year Awards for the second year running.
http://www.bristolyoungtalent.co.uk
Pictured: Top student Martin Marafko, centre, flanked on the left by fellow members of Team Inspire from Marlwood School and contest founder Elaine Brown, and on the right by RSG CEO Mike Beesely and the Patchway Power 4 team from Patchway Community College
