Business students at North Shropshire College have recently been honoured at the 2016 Businesses for Children Awards.
The students and the College’s Business Curriculum lead, Sarah Probert, have been awarded for their work with NEST (Nurturing Enterprising Sprit and Talent), set up by Business students to foster and nurture young entrepreneurs and to expand on the spirit of enterprise societies throughout the community and the College. The College won two awards on the night, winning the Best Educational Business for Young People award and the Supportive Business for Children and Young People award.
Sarah Probert commented, “I am extremely honoured and grateful that the hard work of our NEST students at NSC has been recognised by the judges of The Businesses for Children Awards I would like to thank the judges for their fantastic feedback and my students for inspiring me every day.’ Jackie Doodson, Principal of NSC commented ‘I am delighted that Sarah’s dedication to the development of young people through business has been recognised, NEST has been a highly effective vehicle for nurturing entrepreneurial skills in our students.”
The BCA judges’ commented on NEST: “It was clear to me that the NEST programme goes above and beyond the call of duty. Students are offered an experience that I have not seen replicated elsewhere. Students’ needs are identified and reflected in the delivery of the programme. Students are given the option to run the business – NEST! They are supported along the way by their tutor Sarah Probert who clearly puts an incredible amount of effort into the business which is always in addition to her teaching duties. The students are also mentored by year 2 students who had the experience of running the business the previous year – this peer mentoring proves to be invaluable to the support offered to the students.”
The judge continued: “I got the opportunity to speak to many of the students being supported to run the business and complete their studies and it was very clear to me that this opportunity has helped to structure their ideas for their future. They all spoke very highly of the support offered by their tutor and the programme itself and how having hands on experience of running a business and the various aspects of it has helped with their studies. What really came home to me was when one student mentioned that a friend of hers loved what she was telling her about NEST and wanted to join the programme in the next academic year! NEST is truly unique and fills a rather large gap in hands on experience of business life, the students were incredibly enthusiastic about NEST and the opportunities it was presenting them with and for this reason I am awarding them my winners.”
Shropshire Live is regulated by 