Last month, Year 12 BTEC students attended a workshop hosted by Snapchat and Amazon.

WES student Alana writes: 

On 23rd January, the BTEC Business group went on a trip to Snapchat headquarters. We had a fun filled day and we were able to take part in many activities during the day.

In the morning, we were welcomed by the Snapchat team and then we were separated into groups, mixing with the other schools that were there. We took part in icebreakers, then got to listen to a very educational talk by the Snap and Amazon teams. This talk told us about employee's experiences with working under their business and how they got to working with them. After this we took part in employee "speed dating", this was when we got to meet employees personally and ask them questions about their job.

After the lunch break, we got to the most anticipated part of the day: presenting our own app. We were asked to make apps to help the environment. We firstly planned what our app would look like and what it would do, then we got into the marketing and finance sector that goes behind the making of the app. Our groups then practised our pitches that we would deliver to the managers of Snapchat and Amazon.

Watching all the groups go up and pitch was an amazing experience because it showed off everyone’s skill set. Some of us felt comfortable with public speaking and projected their voices across the room, whilst others tried even if they weren't comfortable. Nevertheless, it was still an extraordinary moment, and everyone left feeling proud of themselves. My fellow student Joe said, “I really enjoyed going up on the stage with everyone!”, while leaving.

This was an eye-opening experience for most of us and it was a great day.