- Through a hands-on Business Studies initiative, Year 11 pupils at Ballard School, an independent school for children aged 2-16, have helped to shape future marketing plans for Ringwood company, Avon Organics.
Rather than just learning the academics of GCSE Business Studies, pupils at Ballard School, based in New Milton, have been applying their knowledge to real-life scenarios. At the end of their marketing module, pupils developed a full marketing plan for the Ringwood-based Avon Organics, a family-run agricultural business that produces and delivers organic beef, lamb, eggs and vegetable boxes locally.
Each pupil was tasked to help market Avon Organics and their services: to identify marketing goals, analyse competitors, outline a target market, and create a full strategy of marketing ideas. The marketing plans were then presented to the owners of Avon Organics, Chris and Carolyn Snow, who were so impressed that they’ve decided to use two of the strategies for their future marketing.
Carolyn Snow, owner of Avon Organics, said:
“We were absolutely astounded with the plans put forward by the Ballard pupils. It was like they’d been put forward by professional consultants, rather than GCSE pupils. They were so good that we just have to use them. They are packed with fresh and exciting ideas that we never would have thought of.”
This initiative comes from Ballard’s Head of Business Studies, Mrs Jo Hatton. As well as her role at the school, Jo is a Regional Education Consultant for LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming). LEAF work with farmers, the food industry, scientists and consumers, to inspire and enable sustainable farming. It was Jo’s work with LEAF that lead to Ballard School choosing Avon Organics for this initiative.
The marketing proposals chosen by Avon Organics came from Lola Gray and Jack Carter, who both received Amazon vouchers, provided by LEAF, for their work.
Jo Hatton, said:
“Ballard put a strong emphasis on applying the theory learned in Business Studies to real-life scenarios. We are working with a number of local businesses to enhance the students’ understanding of the real word, demonstrating that you can apply the theory is a massive benefit, not just to learning, but also for future employment.
All of the pupils that took part loved having the opportunity to tie everything from the marketing module together, and present to and hear feedback from an actual business, rather than just a teacher.
We had such great feedback on all of the marketing plans that were pitched by the pupils. The two selected presentations were commended for their clear research and the interesting marketing ideas relating to search engines and online reviews.”
Ballard’s GCSE Business Studies course focuses on different forms of business organisations, the environments in which they operate and business functions such as marketing, operations and finance. Pupils also learn the ability to calculate and interpret financial data, communication skills needed to support arguments with reasons, the ability to analyse business situations and reach decisions and judgements.
To find out more about Ballard School, visit: https://www.ballardschool.co.uk/
To find out more about Avon Organics, visit: www.avonorganics.co.uk
To find out more about LEAF Education, visit: www.education.leafuk.org
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