The Mayor of Middlesbrough, Mr Ray Mallon came to the Academy to help judge presentations given by a group of A-Level English Language students.

The Mayor of Middlesbrough, Mr Ray Mallon came to the Academy on Friday 17th July to help judge presentations given by a group of A-Level English Language students.

The students had been set a BBC's 'The Apprentice' style challenge of re-branding Middlesbrough and had to create a marketing package for the town, including a series of posters, leaflet and a storyboard for a television advert.

The three groups worked incredibly well as teams and Mr Mallon and invited Academy staff were impressed by the quality of the work produced.

Students had carried out research to understand more about local people's perceptions about the town and had selected key areas to focus on, depending on their chosen target audiences. The groups pitched their ideas confidently and responded to some challenging questions from the Mayor.

They are delighted to have been invited to meet again with Mr Mallon in September and it is hoped that a broader discussion about how young people perceive Middlesbrough will yield positive outcomes in terms of ideas for engaging younger people and developing a strong sense of pride and ownership of our town.