During the Lent term, Shell pupils enjoyed a day producing a team solution to a business challenge. This challenge forms part of the Bradfield Diploma, the emphasis being to develop employability skills such as teamwork, communication and creative thinking. Teams of pupils were presented with a choice of objects and were tasked with creating a business based on their chosen item.
The day started with an introduction to branding and marketing by Martin White, a professional marketer and Bradfield parent which set the tone for the event. They then came together in groups to develop their ideas and create advertising and marketing campaigns to promote their business. Pupils and Horizons staff were extremely well supported by ten Shell parents and partners of Bradfield who acted as both mentors and judges on the day.
The ideas that the year group produced were fantastic. The innovation and creativity shown when pupils were given the freedom of the College to create their marketing materials was incredible. The presentations, logos, websites, marketing campaigns, social media accounts, use of AI and advertisements pupils created were of an extremely high standard. They certainly rose to the challenge. The pupils conducted themselves impeccably and appeared to have gained a huge amount from the experience.
The five finalists delivered excellent presentations and had brilliant business ideas ranging from a solar power bank that can be used at festivals, to a company that makes straws that can detect if your drink has been spiked, to sports glasses that can monitor an athlete’s performance, and shoes that charge your phone faster the more you dance. The preparation for festival season was a strong theme! The overall winners of the Shell Advertising Challenge 2026 were the team who developed a product called ‘Root Reviver’, a hair dryer that has different adaptors to colour, straighten, or curl your hair at the same time. A brilliant idea, and the team delivered an excellent pitch presentation and answered questions from the judges and audience with real clarity. It was an excellent day with impressive performances from all teams.
