Success for year 10 pupils with ‘Eco Friendly’ Concept

Year 10 Pupils from Bournville School, Birmingham were celebrating on Friday after winning Enterprise week by impressing the judges with their ‘eco friendly’ concept. The pupils were set a challenge to provide ‘greener’ environments and ensure that they are still environmentally sound in 30 years time. The challenge given to them by Midlands based contractors Thomas Vale Construction and Bournville Architects is part of an Enterprise week, a scheme designed to meet the essential 5 enterprise days prescribed by the Government.
The week involves the school inviting businesses to come into their school and set pupils a topical challenge. During the week, pupils work in teams to find solutions to these challenges. They decide how the challenge should be tackled and then implement their plan. The culmination of the week is then presented to an audience, which explains the solution to their challenge. The winning group in school at the end of the week then goes forward to compete in a collegiate competition, which takes place in a lecture theatre at Newman College. The chance to represent the school in this competition, offers another valuable experience for pupils.
“We were extremely impressed with the attitude and enthusiasm of the students during the week. They all worked exceptionally hard and produced some excellent product concepts. We would definitely take part in Enterprise week again next year and are really looking forward to seeing our winning team present in the final at Newman College. We are also especially thankful to Bournville Architects for helping the pupils in developing their concepts and ideas.”

Aimee Hyde, PR and Communications Manager, Thomas Vale

This year the year 10 students were split in to four groups and set challenges by local businesses including Thomas Vale Construction, Birmingham City Football Club, West Midlands Fire Service and British Transport Police. The winning team from each group then presented their concepts to their peers in the final on Friday. The team “Shock Value” were the overall winners with their idea to create an ‘Eco Home’ for deprived areas in the Midlands as a money saving and environmentally friendly concept. The home would feature solar panels, rain water harvesting and recycling bins. They also came up with a mechanism that would turn of the electricity if it was left on. The group will now compete against other schools at Newman College in two weeks time.