Great work being done

: Wed Feb 11, 2009 4:58 pm

Full article here

Watch out Sir Alan Sugar , you have a rival as Sir Freddie Cougar replaces the Electronics tycoon for Keighley Cougars own version of the BBC series ‘The Apprentice.

Students attending the Clubs ‘Cougar Pride’ Study Support centre have been taking part in a project based on the popular programme that will see them take part in various tasks over the eight weeks they attend the centre , developing their marketing , research and teamwork skills .

The 13 and 14 year olds from Oakbank and Beckfoot will ,as a finale to their time at the centre be invited, to set up shop at the Cougars Family Fun Day before the Oldham Game on March 22nd ,to sell to supporters a new range of Cougar Promotional Items that they have designed and produced themselves .

Early tasks have seen the students form their own ‘companies ‘, giving a chance to reflect on their own personal skills , and create an identity , through logo and slogan design for their group. As most were unfamiliar with the Club ,they have also used differing information sources such a the Cougars website, matchday programme and displays around Cougar Park to learn more about the team and its players.

As the weeks progress , tasks will include costing ,design and production of their chosen products and market research advertising & promotion to maximise sales ,
with Cougar Pride staff being joined by the Clubs Sales and Marketing Team to provide some expert advice as well as Cougars Prop Forward Brendon Rawlins who is employed as a Centre Mentor.

With an overall aim of increasing students ability’s in the Centres core subjects of numercy, literacy and ICT skills as well as developing personal skills such as confidence , self esteem and motivation to learn,, each group is given personal feedback at the beginning of each week from Sir Freddie ,straight from the boardroom, highlighting their successes in the previous weeks task , with one team eventually being crowned ‘The Cougar Apprentices ‘ for their overall performance eat the end of the 8 weeks.

This term at the’ Cougar Pride’ centre has also seen the Primary school groups attending after school support sessions focus on numeracy , with the Club Shop , team statistics , and the ground itself itself all providing valuable Cougar based learning opportunities.