A group of budding entrepreneurs attended a discovery day at the University of Leeds to gain an insight into the exciting and broad range of business courses offered.
Organised through the Excellence Hub, a partnership between the universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York, the Year 7 and 8 students from Richmond School and Sixth Form College, were encouraged to think about how their core school subjects give them the skills and foundations for higher education.
A mix of taster sessions were designed to be fun and interactive, enabling students to develop skills such as teamwork, communication and creative problem solving, and ultimately encourage them to consider the various pathways to success.
The first workshop focused on business finance and students had to solve a complex accounting problem in teams to calculate the net worth of an individual.
The students also completed a decision-making activity where they worked on a NASA survival challenge, using maths and statistics to analyse their individual and team results.
The event culminated with a grand tour of the prestigious university campus where the students were impressed to visit The Great Hall, the oldest part of the university.
Arlo Wheatley said: “We saw so many interesting things, for example the longest corridor in Europe and the largest university gym in the UK. We also found out that the university has a target to get rid of plastic by 2022.”
Lily Parker added: “The lecturers and student ambassadors were very open and honest about the university and we gained a lot of information.”
Lily Richardson said: “The day was inspiring and it was good to be see the diversity of students from different cultures including international students.”
The University of Leeds is home to one of the top Business Schools in the country and, over the years, a number of students from Richmond Sixth Form College have graduated there.
Liz Mannion, lead teacher for careers, said: “It was a great insight into higher education for our students and an event linking curriculum subjects to careers which is a key aspect of our careers education programme.
“The students excelled in the tasks set and were a credit to Richmond School.”
