Sweet success for Lichfield College Business students in Ignite Pitch Challenge 

South Staffordshire College is celebrating the success of its second-year Business students from Lichfield College, who secured first place in the first-ever Ignite Pitch Challenge with their imaginative business concept, Sweet Retreat.

The Ignite Pitch Challenge was delivered by Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce, as part of Staffordshire County Council’s Ignite programme. Now in its sixth year, Ignite has supported more than 36,000 young people across Staffordshire to build confidence and develop entrepreneurial skills. Its first-ever Pitch Challenge brought together five student teams from colleges across the region to present business plans to a five-strong judging panel drawn from business, education and public service sector organisations.

Representing South Staffordshire College were Isobel Wallbank, Cobie Ellison, Jayden Choudhury, Kailen Goalby, George Whale and Seth Newey. Their winning business concept, Sweet Retreat, was a modern college tuck shop combining traditional sweets with healthier choices, app-based ordering and a college rewards scheme.

The Business students from South Staffordshire College impressed the judges with the commercial thinking behind their concept, strong teamwork, confident pitch and clear presentation.

Speaking on behalf of the winning team, Izzy Wallbank said: “We really enjoyed the hands-on experience where we’ve all learnt skills we didn’t even know existed, stuff that we will be able to apply to jobs in the workforce and whatever we end up doing in the future. I think it’s perfect to add to a portfolio and CV.”

Competitions such as this give learners the opportunity to apply their knowledge in a professional environment, build confidence and develop employability skills. Alongside receiving gift vouchers, the winning students will be supported by Staffordshire County Council to identify individual work-experience opportunities aligned with their career ambitions.

Business tutor, Lydia Ashwood said: “I am incredibly proud of the learner’s achievement. This is a fantastic accomplishment for the team and a real testament to their hard work, creativity, and confidence throughout the competition. They successfully applied their business knowledge to develop a strong commercial idea and represented South Staffordshire College brilliantly. Their professionalism, incredible teamwork, and ability to communicate their ideas effectively impressed the judges and demonstrated the high standard of talent within our Business department”.

South Staffordshire College is immensely proud of the students and the way they represented the college throughout the challenge. Their success reflects not only the strength of their business idea, but also their ambition, professionalism and determination, which are all qualities that will stand them in excellent stead as they progress into further study, employment or entrepreneurship.