Lower Sixth students in Classroom to Boardroom programme with PwC

Last term, Lower Sixth students took part in the Classroom to Boardroom programme with PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).

The programme was delivered by Entrepreneurs in Action, with Derek Browne as the facilitator. Students were given a brief by PwC on day one. They were challenged to come up with different ways in which the local authorities in West Yorkshire could address youth unemployment in the area. This was based on the current situation and the students had to take into account factors ranging from Covid-19 to the environmental impact of their suggested solutions, many of which focused on youth education and training.

The students were split into four teams; Market Research, Innovation, Finance and Marketing. Each of the teams had their own leader, in addition, Tiwa Ajayi-Obe was elected as CEO and Shivali Agrawal as Deputy CEO. All of them worked incredibly hard during the following days, as they collaborated to come up with their ideas and proposals. They proceeded to put together their presentation to deliver via Zoom to PwC on the final day.

Head of Economics, Ferdinand Doepel said: “The students did a fantastic job delivering a very slick presentation that impressed both the PwC employees and the parents in attendance. They have developed up a wide range of skills that will prove useful in the future.”

Shivali Agrawal, Deputy CEO of the student team, wrote: “Through the four day programme, I felt as though I really grew as a leader and was able to develop my confidence more. Having a presentation to prepare for gave us an end goal to work on and the pressure helped to bring us together as a team and afforded everyone the opportunity to strive. It was a very intense experience but I found the Classroom to Boardroom scheme really rewarding for my personal development in order to figure out more about myself as a person. From this experience I am now able to understand better the skills that I can improve on as well as how to go about doing so. I also felt like the scheme helped me develop my understanding of the world of work and become more flexible in adapting to situations as well as working with other people which is an essential skill for the future. The scheme has encouraged me to find opportunities to participate in activities which develop and challenge my thinking skills outside academic study in order to grow as a person so that I can more easily adapt to the future.”

Well done to all involved.