In a recent weekly bulletin, Head of Business Mr White offered all parents the opportunity to come in and share their expertise with Sixth Form Business students. This is a crucial part of the hands-on BTEC course where pupils gain practical knowledge and experience as well as learning about the theories behind business strategies. Mr White was delighted when Mr Reed, CEO of Burger King Indonesia, offered to fly in and deliver the first parent presentation.
Mr Reed, father of Year 12 boarder Jonnie, is based in Jakarta but managed to tie in the visit with the Friday Night Lights rugby fixtures which Jonnie played an important part in. Mr Reed’s talk focussed on Burger King’s advertising strategies, to support Year 12 students in their study of marketing.
Mr Reed discussed different ways in which Burger King has marketed their products in south east Asia, emphasising the importance of remaining ‘on brand’ at all times. Being a huge multinational organisation, there is also a requirement to communicate with colleagues across the globe and ensure all branding and communications are consistent. The importance of differentiating products from high profile competitors was also outlined. Burger King have recently changed their restaurants to give customers a different dining experience than in McDonalds.
Mr White commented: “The event was extremely successful and students got a lot out of it. If any other parents are interested in giving a business talk please email me at [email protected].”
It has been a positive few term for BTEC subjects at Shiplake as the departments were recently visited by an inspector from Pearson’s Education. The inspection focussed on learning quality and resources in BTEC subjects at Shiplake. All three subjects (Business, Music and Travel and Tourism) passed with flying colours.Inspector Emma O’Neil commented: “The learning experience in all three subject areas is outstanding and vocationally applied. I was particularly impressed by the new music centre based in the John Turner Building which provides excellent facilities for students to work with.”
