Woodhouse College students taking part in the Envision Young Leaders programme this year were selected as just one of 12 school teams to present their idea for social change at the annual Pitch4Change event at Morgan Stanley’s office in Canary Wharf.
The Envision programme runs for the entire academic year and this week was awarded a Big Society Award from Prime Minister David Cameron for equipping young people with the tools they need to make positive change and the skills they need for employment.
The Woodhouse College team were chosen for their creative and entrepreneurial project idea of teaching students how to grow and cultivate their own herbs such as basil and chives. Having piloted this project in a primary school already they want to continue to promote a better understanding of locally grown products and ultimately increase the appreciation for nature and the environment.
Envision matched the Woodhouse College students with a team of corporate mentors who have been sharing their expertise through a series of workshops and coaching sessions to help them develop their ideas and prepare their presentations.
After pitching their idea to a judging panel of senior executives from corporations such as Schroder’s and Reed Elsevier, they succeeded in winning £300 to turn their project into a reality.
Feeding back to the team the judges said they were very impressed with their strong presentation and achievable goals. They commended them for developing a project that could rolled out nationwide.
With funding for their project secured the team will now start delivering their project when they return to school in the New Year.
All the teams will come back together again in June to share their project outcomes and to celebrate their positive impact.