Year 10 students complete their first challenge as Community Apprenticeships
On Friday 14th February, a group of twelve Year 10 students completed their first challenge in Envision’s Community-Apprentice competition. The Awareness Raising challenge is the first of three that the team will complete as Community Apprentices, with the Fundraising and Pitching challenge coming up in the next few weeks.
Veeranna’s Boys (a team name coined from their favourite Maths teacher) are halfway through their 13-week journey on the Envision programme, and are supporting Off The Record, a mental health social movement, by and for young people aged 11-25, living in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
So far, Veeranna’s Boys have reached over 300 students with their unique awareness raising projects. The team asked Year 10 students to write a response to ‘How was your day?’ on post-it notes in their tutor groups. The notes have been collated onto a board which is currently in reception. The group have been ambitious, making a video with the theme, ‘What makes you happy?’ and finished their project with posters around school to signpost students to Off the Record and in-school support. They have been working together to break down goals, overcome challenges and encourage one another to reach their best potential.
The competition so far
A young person on the Community Apprentice Programme will develop the key skills of confidence, teamwork and determination. However, the nature of the competition requires students to work effectively in teams to make their challenges a success.
Veeranna’s Boys from Oasis Academy, Brislington are in competition with four other schools. The team that can demonstrate the best use and development of determination, confidence and teamwork, as well as overall commitment to the programme, will be crowned the “Community Apprentice champions” and win an extra £200 for their chosen charity.
Exposure to the workplace
The programme is not only valuable within an academic setting, each school is partnered with its very own business. The business provides employees, called Business Mentors, to guide and support the team with their projects and develop the skills employers look for. Veeranna’s Boys are currently partnered with IOP Publishing.
In the last mentoring session, the Community Apprentices worked with their Business Mentors to develop ideas for their Fundraising Challenge, which will take place on Thursday 26th March. The team will have an hour to deliver their fundraising activities, put their skills into practice and raise as much money as possible for Off The Record. Veeranna’s Boys will also deliver a presentation to the wider organisation at IOP Publishing, informing the company about their experience on Envision’s Community Apprentice programme. This is all in preparation for their final Pitching Challenge which is due to take place on Thursday 30th April, where they will go head to head with four other schools.
