An elite university hailed five visionary Barking pupils as the future of business strategy in a national competition.
Barking Abbey School’s Sowmiya Gunabalasingam, Ipek Mehmet, Misha Iradukumdia, Inara Aliyeva and Midhuna Venukumar beat 13 other teams to win the University of Warwick’s Big Deal competition.
The year 10 pupils “wowed” judges by pitching a new use for London’s iconic red telephone boxes as “communication hubs for tourists”, with Sowmiya describing the group’s pitch in The Shard as tense.
“The presentation was a steep learning curve as we’ve not done anything like it before, but now we feel more knowledgeable,” she said. “Our presentation was nerve-racking so we weren’t distracted by the skyline though, as we were too busy concentrating.”
The project involved 10 weeks of preparation for a presentation on Monday, with the school’s business mentor Julia Stevens praising pupils’ dedication.
“Working with smart youngsters like these has been a real benefit,” she said.
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