Pictured above: Arrow Vale students during their visit
to Oakland International, Redditch
Students from Arrow Vale High School in Redditch descended on
local firm, Oakland International, as part of their applied
business studies assignment, spending the morning questioning staff
on a range of internal and external factors affecting their day to
day business.
The visit (Thursday 26th November) was an integral part of their
AS level assignment and was worth one third of their overall grade.
Playing host to the students, Oakland's HR/Purchasing and
Facilities Controller, Sue Walton, said the company welcomes
interaction with local schools and colleges: "Oakland is delighted
to support education initiatives based within the workplace
environment, and is more than happy to assist students in their
research."
The company is known for its active promotion for greater links
between schools and the business community and supports other Arrow
Vale students through projects such as the promotion of languages
within schools, believed by Oakland to be key to the students'
future employment prospects.
Said Sue: "The aim for the students will be to find out key
aspects of Oakland's business such as the influence of external
environmental and economic factors, the use of market research
within our business activities and how Oakland's teams work
together to deliver a service bespoke to our individual wholesaler,
supplier, manufacturer and retailer needs."
A veteran partner, chosen to work with major retailers and
suppliers across the UK and Ireland, and European wholesale and
convenience markets, and includes Sainsbury's, Tesco, Waitrose,
Asda, Morrisons, SPAR, Nisa-Today's, Lidl, Aldi, Iceland,
Somerfield, Landmark, Co-op, Makro, Dunnes, Superquinn,
Supervalu and Musgrave, Oakland's support continues to be valued by
the school.
Steve Last Subject Leader for Business: "Students benefit
enormously from collecting data first hand when completing
assignments in business. It provides them with a real world context
to apply the theories and concepts taught in the classroom. It also
improves student's communication skills by visiting the operations
and interviewing key personnel. We are extremely grateful to
Oakland International for their support and will be using the
company in the future for further visits."
The students had a deadline in which to complete their
investigations, are now well on target to deliver their results
thanks to Oakland stepping up to the plate, despite it being the
start of the company's busiest season.