Liverpool students celebrate winning national automotive competition
Two pupils from St Hilda's CE High School in Liverpool have been celebrating after winning a national schools competition organised in association with The Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).
Shauna Philips and Peri Meadows formed part of the winning team, Team Kaos, which took the top spot in the Headlight competition. Headlight is a new initiative developed by the IMI in conjunction with specialist teachers through the National Schools Partnership that includes a series of creative curriculum-linked teacher and student resources aimed primarily at those studying business related courses, with the motor industry as the exciting backdrop.
The competition was based around the marketing of a new vehicle focusing on brand, product and promotion, the winning entry from St Hilda's was chosen from competing schools across the UK. As part of their prize, Shauna and Peri, along with their teachers, travelled to Germany to tour the Audi Forum in Ingolstadt, courtesy of Audi UK where they experienced a behind the scenes look at how a global automotive manufacturer produces its quality vehicles.
The school also benefitted from a donation by the Ford Motor Company of a new, 17 seater Transit minibus which the school are able to use cost free for one year. Representatives from the school, including the winning students received the minibus from local Ford dealership, Peoples Speke, based in Speke Hall Road, Liverpool.
Commenting on the win, Joanne Kelly, Enterprise Development Officer at St Hilda's said: "This was an exceptional opportunity for our students, whether they were winners or not. In particular, we liked the fact that our mainly female students were made aware of career opportunities in the motor industry, a traditionally male domain."
One of the winning students, Peri Meadows said: "Winning the competition has been fantastic and we have really enjoyed the prizes we have won. Going to the Audi Forum in Germany was brilliant and it was such an exciting and interesting day. It's great that as well as enjoying a prize ourselves, by winning the minibus, we had also won a prize that can be used by the whole school too. Participating in the Headlight project has given me a real insight into what a career in the motor industry can offer and I would now definitely consider a career in this sector."
Lesley Woolley, Head of Professional Development at the IMI said: "Our congratulations go to Peri and Shauna and to their teachers at St Hilda's on winning the Headlight competition. Headlight is a new initiative designed to show young people the diverse and exciting career opportunities available within the motor industry and show that it's not just a career for the technically minded. A successful future for the UK motor industry will depend on the recruitment and training of high calibre young people in a range of hi-tech disciplines, using state-of-the-art specialist equipment. But it's not just a career for the technically minded and this marketing competition shows that the motor industry also offers plenty of opportunities for professional staff in sales, management, marketing, human resources, finance and administration, who have the skills to work with people."
Through the programme and competition, pupils were able to develop their business and enterprise knowledge and gain routes into local employers within the sector that helped them witness theory in practice first hand, and increased their awareness of the exciting career opportunities available to them within the motor industry.
For more information about the Headlight programme please click here.