Year 8 National Career Challenge champions celebrate with JCB

Following their victory in July, we were delighted to welcome our 2024 Year 8 National Career Challenge champions to the JCB worldwide headquarters to celebrate their victory.

Our 2024 Year 8 winning team from Christ Church Academy were joined by runners-up Bablake School at the Rocester site on Friday 8th November where the students took part in a session organised by the JCB Early Careers team.  

Our teams were welcomed by Ellie Whitehouse (Early Careers Scheme Leader) and Lilly Smith (Business Degree Apprentice) where they took part in a guided tour of the “Story of JCB” – students ventured behind the scenes of JCB’s world famous diggers, gained exciting insight into the history of the global company and even saw the JCB Dieselmax – a streamlined car that broke the land speed record for a diesel-engineered vehicle!

After this, our students competed once again … this time through a JCB themed escape room challenge led by Lilly Smith.  Using the skills that they had developed throughout The National Careers Challenge, our student’s teamwork, communication and time management skills were put to the test!  Congratulations to Christ Church Academy who pipped Bablake Academy by only seconds.  

Following a delicious lunch, the students had the opportunity to re-pitch their ideas to more representatives from JCB’s Early Talent team including Neil Fowkes (Early Career Talent Manager) and Holly Broadhurst (Senior Early Career Team Leader).  JCB welcomes over 300 apprentices each year and with opportunities in manufacturing, business development and project management, having the opportunity to meet the Early Careers team really was a money can’t  buy prize for our budding entrepreneurs!

Grace Challinor from The Inspirational Learning Group said, “It was a pleasure to join our 2024 Year 8 champions and runners-up on their celebration day at JCB worldwide headquarters.  The students represented their schools excellently and it was wonderful to see them putting the skills that they had learnt through their involvement with TNCC into practice with the escape room challenge!”.

Schools, do your students have what it takes to be crowned our 2025 National Careers Challenge champions?  

Contact our team today on 01785 875375 or via the Contact Us form.

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