Students put creative fizz into Coca-Cola's Olympics challenge

Students from Denbigh School beat over 1,000 other schools to reach the Coca-Cola European Partner’s (CCEP) Real Business Challenge East Midlands regional final last week.

The event, which was held at the iPro Pride Park Stadium in Derby, aims to encourage young people aged 13 – 15 to see themselves as the business minds of tomorrow, developing their skills in business and enterprise.

Students were tasked with producing a proposal on raising funds and awareness for the Special Olympics Great Britain, which will hold its National Games in Sheffield this summer.

Denbigh’s team created a bus stop poster, devised a radio advertisement and proposed a comedy gala dinner at Stadium MK. They pitched their ideas to a panel of judges which included experts from the worlds of business, charity and education.

The students faced tough competition going up against the other top ten schools in the East Midlands but were thrilled to be named as runners up.

Headteacher Andy Squires said: “The team worked exceptionally well together, using all of their talent and resourcefulness to create an inspirational campaign. We are very proud of their achievement and of how positively they represented Denbigh School. Challenges like these fuel students’ ambitions for the future.”

‎Education programme manager at Coca-Cola European Partners Gina Solimeno added: “We were very impressed by Denbigh School’s well-designed and thought-provoking campaign to support Special Olympics GB. We understand the importance of learning through experience, and it is our aim that the range of hands-on activities students undertake throughout the challenges will help educate, inspire and motivate them, as well as give them valuable insights into the world of work.”