Northumberland school awarded national enterprise title - Wembley Final Reveals Winner of Coca-Cola Enterprises Real Business Challenge 2011

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Students from Cramlington Learning Village in Northumberland are celebrating today after being crowned national champions of the Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) Real Business Challenge, and winning tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games this summer.

In 2011, over 500 schools from across the UK entered the competition, designed to inspire the business leaders and entrepreneurs of the future, with regional heats taking place throughout November.  Ten regional winners, from Scotland to Southern England, travelled to London to take part in the national final, held at Wembley Stadium on Wednesday 25 January; the students had the opportunity to meet guest of honour, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, one of the most successful disabled athletes in the UK.

At the Wembley final, students were given the opportunity to develop business ideas, with expert mentoring and skills workshops, before pitching their campaign to a panel of judges, including Tanni Grey-Thompson, Sir Keith Mills, Deputy Chair of London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and CCE Managing Director, Simon Baldry. Ahead of the national final, full-sized billboards were also unveiled in each school's local area, designed by students to raise awareness of recycling.   

Students from Cramlington Learning Village were awarded victory following their business plan for encouraging consumers to recycle more and litter less in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Glenrothes High School from Scotland claimed second place, and St David's College in Llandudno, Wales came third. And the final honour of the day was awarded to Ashleigh Meigh from St David's College, who was nominated by her fellow students for the once in a lifetime chance to be a Torchbearer during the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay.

Now in its ninth year, the Coca-Cola Enterprises Real Business Challenge is designed to give students aged 14 and 15 genuine business experience, and provide them with some of the skills and attributes needed for the workplace. It is linked to the national curriculum and accredited by Edexcel, the leading provider of internally recognised educational qualifications. The 2011 competition focused on sustainability, and was offered as part of Get Set, the official London 2012 education programme.  

Michael Bacon, business studies teacher at Cramlington Learning Village, said: "The whole experience has been fantastic, from start to finish, and to have won is just phenomenal. The students responded brilliantly to all the challenges they were set and showed real innovation. The competition allowed them to learn some essential business skills and to get a taste of what it is like in a genuine working environment.  It has truly inspired the students and some are already talking about their future careers - it looks like we have some budding entrepreneurs on our hands!"

Simon Baldry, Managing Director of Coca-Cola Enterprises, said: "Congratulations to Cramlington Learning Village and all of the students who took part in the final. The level of innovation we have seen throughout the competition this year has been truly inspirational, and a demonstration of the entrepreneurial spirit of the country's younger generation.

"It has been a privilege to see students from across the UK coming together for a combined focus on enterprise and sustainability. I was hugely impressed by the passion and creativity displayed throughout the campaigns in the name of recycling."

Sir Keith Mills, Deputy Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG), comments: "I have been hugely impressed by the standard of entries for this competition and I applaud Coca Cola Enterprises for their efforts in organising the CCE Real Business Challenge.  The aim of the Get Set programme is to give the next generation a real opportunity to learn about and be part of the Games.  This school enterprise competition has been an excellent way to engage students in both business and the environment and hopefully inspire some budding entrepreneurs of the future.

Notes to editors

For more information about CCE and the Real Business Challenge please contact:
Coca-Cola Enterprises Press Office
Cocacolaenterprises@3-monkeys.co.uk
01895 844 828.

About Coca-Cola Enterprises:
Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. (CCE) is the world's third-largest independent Coca-Cola bottler.  CCE is the sole licensed bottler for products of The Coca-Cola Company in Belgium, continental France, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.

In Great Britain Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd employs around 4,500 people across England, Scotland and Wales at manufacturing sites, regional offices and depots.

CCE's education programme is comprised of dedicated education centres and The Real Business Challenge.  The four purpose-built education centres, located within our operations, are run by qualified teachers, who host customised, curriculum-linked factory visits, providing insights into a manufacturing business.  The schools outreach programme, the Real Business Challenge (RBC), is an annual enterprise competition, challenging students to tackle a business task, working alongside CCE mentors.  CCE's education programme has been re-accredited with Big Tick status in the Business in the Community's (BITC) 2011 Awards for Excellence.

For further information please visit www.cokecce.co.uk.

About Edexcel
Edexcel is owned by Pearson, the world's leading education and information company, and is committed to developing resources offering youngsters the best possible chance for success in their lives. Pearson's commitment to the Real Business Challenge is a great way to capture the imagination of students whilst teaching them something too and they are working closely with CCE to include the Real Business Challenge learning activity as part of the accredited BTEC WorkSkills qualifications.

About LOCOG
Get Set is the official London 2012 education programme for schools and colleges across the UK. It provides free learning resources for 3-19 year olds to find out more about the Games and explore the Olympic Values of excellence, friendship and respect, and the Paralympic Values of determination, inspiration, courage and equality. It also offers access to exciting prizes and opportunities through participation in competitions and partner programmes. There are over 23,500 schools and colleges registered with Get Set.

The Real Business Challenge is a partner programme of Get Set.

The Get Set network is the London 2012 reward and recognition scheme for the active community of schools and colleges across the UK that are demonstrating a commitment to living the Olympic and Paralympic Values. Members of the network gain the right to use the London 2012 education logo, and are given priority access to the most exclusive prizes and opportunities. There are currently over 16,600 members of the Get Set network.

All schools and colleges that are part of Coca-Cola Enterprises Real Business Challenge are eligible to receive even greater reward and recognition from London 2012 by joining the Get Set network.

Visit www.london2012.com/getset for more information