Last week, a group of Sixth Form Bolton students who were part of the ASDA Leaders Team headed to ASDA HQ in Leeds, to present a pitch on solving a real-life business problem around the theme of sustainability and were delighted to win the competition.
The Asda Leaders scheme is aimed at students in year 12 who have an interest in business and who have the aspiration of becoming a future leader within the retail sector. It prompts students to solve a real-life business problem relating to an industry-wide EDI and sustainability issue as part of a “Dragons Den” style presentation. During the year, the students were mentored by Asda colleagues and attended Asda-led events to gain insight into different business functions, participate in mock assessments and enjoy employability experiences.
Our students had been working on their project since October, giving up their free time to conduct research and attend mentoring sessions with their business mentor from ASDA's leadership team. The students’ proposal was to invest more into EV charging infrastructure across ASDA stores, incentivising shoppers via the ASDA loyalty cars to 'charge while they shop' and therefore attracting more shoppers into the store and increasing Asda's share of the market.
The Sixth Form Bolton was the only sixth form outside of West Yorkshire to be invited to take part in the ASDA Future Leaders programme and our students developed a wide range of employability skills throughout this opportunity.
The students were over the moon to win the competition, and their proposal will now be discussed at board level with a view to being implemented across the business. Our students have even been invited to return to HQ to present their research to the board
The Sixth Form’s mentor was Ellie Beecham, campaign planner at ASDA and the project was delivered by Sarah Steel, (Future Talent Specialist at ASDA). Sarah was really impressed by the students’ work saying:
'Well Done to The Sixth Form Bolton for your confident and professional presentation. You spoke passionately but with so much clarity about your idea. The judges were so impressed with your efforts!'
The students were over the moon with winning with Triple Vocational Business student, Kennedy Joseph, saying:
'Working together, we tackled the issue with innovation, teamwork, and a shared passion for sustainability. It was an amazing opportunity to collaborate, think critically, and propose a solution that could make a real difference to the planet and the way businesses operate.’
This experience has helped me grow both personally and professionally strengthening my leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills, while deepening my interest in sustainable business practices.'
Jill Whitham, Head of Careers at The Sixth Form said:
'Once again, our wonderful students have demonstrated their commitment by tackling the ASDA Leaders programme it with professionalism and enthusiasm throughout. This opportunity was made possible by our Enterprise Adviser, Christine Baldwin, who along with staff from ASDA HQ has supported our students throughout the research and planning process. During the celebration pitch, our students competed against 9 other teams, all of whom were tough competition, but the amount of work our students put into their proposal was evident throughout their pitch and meant that the judges voted them overall winners.'
The Sixth Form’s Careers provision is highly praised and has been awarded the Quality in Careers Standard (the national quality award for overall careers education and guidance provision) and the matrix Standard (recognition of high-quality information, advice and guidance (IAG)). The Careers team will be available to speak to at the open events on Wednesday 8 October and Saturday 22 November. Find out more about our open events here.
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