Orla’s challenges culminated in the production of a winning video promoting the school. She narrowly beat boarder, Sophia Page, in the final task.
After the Team Selection Day on Thursday 6th March 2014 in which the whole of Year 10 competed in a series of mental and physical challenges, a final team of six was selected: Julie-Ann Buxton, Charlotte Hourihan, Dani Lozzi, Sophia Page, Orla Ridpath and Emily Saunders. The Apprentice Challenge continued over three days to find the final winner.
On Wednesday 12th March 2014 the winning team were pitted against one another in a series of challenges set by Justine Upton of Harris Lord Recruitment in Horsham and Lisa Jarvis of Permanent Solutions Direct in Copthorne.
They started with a team challenge to break the ice. Here the girls were required to build the tallest structure they could using only a newspaper, a ball of string, a roll of Sellotape, a pair of scissors and a small bottle of water. The structure had to be able to support the bottle of water and be at least 50cms tall.
Thereafter, the tasks were of a more individual nature and the girls learnt about writing their CVs and how to write a letter of application for work experience. They were also given some interview training where the importance of positive body language and a firm handshake were stressed. This was followed by an individual interview where all the girls were able to put their training to good use. All of these activities were scored objectively and two girls were eliminated.
On Thursday 13th March it was time for challenge number two for the four remaining girls – Dani, Sophia, Orla and Emily. They were tasked with making a ‘Show-Stopper Cake’ (as in the Great British Bake-Off). Despite four delicious cakes, two further contestants had to be eliminated, leaving Orla and Sophia as this year’s finalists.
On Friday 14th March, Farlington’s marketing director, Sara Greer, along with the chief reporter from the West Sussex County Times, Ollie McAteer, set the last challenge: each finalist, with the help of those contestants previously eliminated, was tasked with producing a 30-second video promoting Farlington. They were asked to consider producing a storyboard outlining their ideas and a brief plan as to how they would implement them.
