Which Sixth Former has the Brightest Business Brain?

15 March 2012

TARGETevents recently held the Grand Final of Schools’ Brightest Business Brain, in partnership with RBS Group at their London office on 9 March 2012. This event targets 16-18 year olds at Sixth Forms at all UK schools giving them the chance to see whether they have a ‘brain for business’ and the top 60 students were present at RBS to discover who the winners were.

16 year-old Arjun Rajani from Merchant Taylors’ School was crowned Schools’ Brightest Business Brain 2012 and commented: “I am so pleased I took part in the Schools’ Brightest Business Brain competition, it’s been a very valuable experience and so great to be the winner! I enjoyed the business skills tests at the final in particular debating, presentation, teamwork and leadership skills. Hearing directly from RBS, CIMA and National Grid about the opportunities available was very insightful. It turned the final into an all-round experience which tested business skills and informed us about various businesses.”

Arjun achieved a score of 13.5 out of a possible 15, winning the top prize of £500 for himself and £500 for his school.

2,500 students registered for Schools’ Brightest Business Brain and took 4 online tests designed by cut-e. The online tests are designed to assess the kind of competencies, traits and aptitudes associated with successful business people, as well as identifying commercial awareness.

Students then had to further demonstrate their abilities and commercial awareness through three face-to-face assessment exercises. The exercises were created and run by cut-e and the competition’s sponsors: RBS Group, CIMA and National Grid. The exercises reflected important competencies each of the sponsors look for in students. This also gave the finalists a feel for who the sponsors are and what they do. Exercises included a debate around the topic of ‘Is going to University time and money well spent?’ a team-working exercise called ‘Construction-Deconstruction’, and business case study ‘Paradise Park’ requiring creative thinking and financial analytics.

Second place went to Zain Iqbal, of Queen Mary’s Grammar School for Boys, winning him and his school £300 each. Priya Shah, from North London Collegiate Schools, scooped third place with £200 prize awarded to her and her school.

Feedback from the Schools’ Brightest Business Brain finalists indicates that 85 per cent of the finalists will go on to University, echoing results from a survey conducted by TARGETevents of over a thousand Sixth Formers which found that 83 per cent planned to go to university with only 11 per cent planning to start work or an apprenticeship.

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Note to Editors

1. Schools’ Brightest Business Brain is an event created by TARGETevents, in partnership with RBS, which tests students’ business acumen amongst Sixth Formers from all UK schools (state, academics and public schools). It was launched after the successful Universities’ Brightest Business Brain on campuses.
2. TARGETevents is part of GTI Recruiting Solutions, which works with companies large or small, to find the best graduate talent in the most cost-effective way. Their services include recruitment outsourcing and student events. They also offer applicant tracking technology solutions.
3. cut-e is the world leader in designing and implementing online tests for use in recruitment selection. Their products assess over 2 million people per year in over 70 countries and 20 languages. For more information, please visit their website www.cut-e.com
4. It is published by GTI Media, the largest graduate careers media group in the world, which was founded in 1988 and currently employs 250 people across nine countries.
5. GTI Media also produces a wide range of sector-specific publications, both in print and online, written by experts in their sectors helping graduates secure jobs.
6. GTI Media distributes its products to universities across the UK and Ireland and is the publishing partner of 25 leading university careers services including Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, Edinburgh, Warwick, London, Manchester, Nottingham, Durham and Trinity College Dublin.
7. GTI is also the official publishing partner of Graduate Careers Ireland, the professional association of careers services in Ireland, producing products under the gradireland brand.

For further comment and information, please contact:

Kirsty Dawson, Senior Events Co-ordinator, TARGETevents

E: Email   Tel: 01491 828915

For more information on TARGETevents: www.target-events.co.uk

For PR enquiries, please contact:

Rachel Cox, Marketing Manager, TARGETjobs

E: Email   Tel: 01491 828925