Year 10 design own video games for National Careers Enterprise Challenge
On 31 January, Year 10 took a scheduled day to consider and work towards their future careers, as part of our school's commitment to delivering age-appropriate careers advice and provision. This Careers, Employability and Financial Capability Day, organised by Head of Careers, Mrs Mead, saw the students take part in the National Careers Challenge. The National Careers Challenge provides students with a challenge set by some real life companies. Students work in teams in their year groups to craft their own response to the challenge, putting their teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills to the test. This year's challenge: to create, design and launch a new computer game concept.
In their teams, students had to identify a target market before developing an idea for a new, downloadable computer game. They considered all aspects of their game design, including characterisation, game play, cyber-security, and add-ons before considering how they would promote their new game to their target audience. Finally, they presented their findings in snappy 4-minute presentations, including an advert, a description of the game, its safety features, and plans for its launch.
Many students looked to the environment and wildlife for inspiration. Our students' games included Pet Paradise, which saw players care for animals in an environmentally educative game; Adventure Y, in which gamers collected peices of fallen stars to save a dying planet; and There's no place like gnome, where players tend a tranquil garden.
By training students' attention on a real-life business challenge, and drawing on their presentation skills and teamwork, this challenge sought to enhance students' awareness of entrepreneurship, and to build skills for employment. This workshop formed part of the St Mary’s Careers Programme and links directly to the Gatsby Good Career Guidance Benchmarks which signpost best practice in schools. Find out more about careers at St Mary's here.