The Apprentice Challenge

We were delighted to be approached by Peckham Park Road Baptist Church about supporting their young people on their half term “Apprentice Challenge”. The young people were tasked with visiting the Abbey, researching a key area of the church, and then using this space as inspiration to develop a marketing strategy for visitors.

The group ranged from 5 - 15 years old and all were equally involved in the task with each team including older and younger members. It was essential that the young people made use of their team working skills as they stretched themselves learning key information, developing ideas and presenting them to a panel of Abbey judges. 

To kickstart the project, we invited the group to the Abbey for a guided tour which focussed on the four key areas that the teams would be exploring:

• The Coronation Chair
• The Grave of the Unknown Warrior 
• The Lady Chapel 
• Poets' Corner 

The tour sparked the young people’s curiosity and they were wonderfully engaged asking lots of questions. There was a sense of friendly competition amongst the usual awe and wonder of visiting the Abbey. After a morning exploring, the group headed back to Peckham to begin their own research and investigation with a promise to return in two weeks to present their marketing pitches. 

While the group were away we assembled a judging panel that included a Learning Officer, the Head of Learning and a representative from HR. The panel and teams reconvened on the appointed day and there was nervous excitement in the air on both sides.  

The young people had generated a wealth of historical facts and information about each of the landmark areas in the Abbey. PowerPoints and paper packs included suggested guidebooks, designs for billboards and merchandise suggestions all for different target audiences and one group even performed an advert live for the judges. The presentations were incredible and the Abbey Staff were exceptionally impressed. 

The competition was fierce but finally a winning team was narrowly selected. The winners each received a goody bag of items from the Abbey gift shop and all the runners-up received a small gift for their brilliant efforts too. 

This fun challenge was a new and modern way of engaging young people to think about the Abbey in all of its many guises. It encouraged the participants to understand that the Abbey is different things to different people. The experience highlighted the challenges of balancing the faith at the heart of the Abbey with the essential business skills that are required to keep it up and running. Taking on this challenge with the Abbey was hugely rewarding for the young people who approached the assignment with clarity and engaged with the Abbey not through faith or history but with an eye for business, an important skill in the modern world.  The young people developed their research skills, worked closely in teams and stretched themselves creatively in ways that have real world application and increase their potential employability long term. 

The judges were highly impressed by the efforts and high standards of the presentations and most importantly noted the deep and personal reflections the young people had made about the Abbey.