The Make It Grand Final 2012 - Supported by Premier Foods
Teen school pupils strike Olympic gold in Make It Grand Final Challenge.
After a year of intense competition 160 budding young manufacturers from 20 schools across the North of the UK battled it out in a competition to design and make a new food or drink product for the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Make It Enterprising Challenge Grand Final, led by The Manufacturing Institute and sponsored by Premier Foods, challenged the teams of pupils to set up their own mini-manufacturing businesses and design and make the product, based on the Olympic and Paralympic values. Each team was also challenged with manufacturing their own eco delivery vehicle from which they can transport and sell their products around the Olympic Village in East London.
Archbishop Blanch High School was awarded the coveted winners trophy on the day, impressing the Dragons with their idea for the 'Oly-pop', a cookie on a stick that would provide an energy boost for athletes competing at the Games.
Meanwhile, the team from Cheadle Hulme High School wowed the judges with the development of their cereal bar 'Fibre Fast', decorated with dried fruit in the colours of the five Olympic rings. The team also designed and built a prototype of an eco-friendly pedal bike with a vending machine attached, to transport and sell the product around the Olympic Park.
The Grand Final was a culmination of a series of themed challenges which The Manufacturing Institute supports through its 'Make It' campaign, which aims to attract the brightest and best new talent into manufacturing by promoting the sector as an exciting and rewarding career option for young people. The year-long competition has tested the ingenuity and initiative of 13 and 14-year-olds across the region with those making it through to the Final already proving their skills as winners of sub-regional heats that attracted 108 schools and involved over 850 pupils.
On the day, teams each took on job roles from managing director to operations managers through to finance, sales and marketing managers. They then completed a series of tasks, built prototypes of their products and developed a brand for their company before pitching their ideas in a Dragons' Den-style presentation to industry experts at Premier Foods.
Stephen Melia, Make It Events Coordinator, said: "UK manufacturing is central to economic recovery but will only be made possible by developing a next generation of talent with the right skills to work in the sector. The need to encourage the brightest and best young people to consider careers in manufacturing has never been more vital and this event allowed young people to see first-hand the exciting and creative careers on offer within a global manufacturing business."
Graham Paterson, Group Manufacturing Excellence Manager at Premier Foods, said: "Premier Foods is a Great British food company with a passion for creating the taste the British love. We take pride in the fact that over 80% of our ingredients and packaging is sourced from UK-based businesses and supporting Make It fully aligns with our aim to be the Best in British Food. Manufacturing is a vital element to the future health of our economy and we need to encourage, inspire and nurture future talent for the whole industry. We are all very proud to be part of the Make It campaign."
Watch video The Make It Grand Final 2012 - Supported by Premier Foods online without registration, duration hours minute second in high quality. This video was added by user MakeItUK 02 July 2012, don't forget to share it with your friends and acquaintances, it has been viewed on our site 1,11 once and liked it people.