Our outstanding Willow Tree students have raised a whopping £581.50 on their Winter Social day, as part of the Willow Tree enterprise programme.

With funds being collected to purchase new equipment for students to use and staff contacting local businesses to ask for prizes and support. Businesses large and small, including The Red Lion Hotel in Wellington, Shelly’s Florists, Green Fields Farm Shop, British Ironworks of Oswestry, Sweet Cheeks, Urey’s Street Food, Morrisons, Tesco, Travis Perkins, TJ Vickers, Telford Tech, Dobbies, Body and Mind and the Woolpack pub chipped in, with parents and carers also donating prizes to help.

After collecting just shy of 100 prizes, from vouchers to flowers and hampers, students held a raffle and visited every corner of the campus. This gave them the opportunity to speak and sell tickets to Telford College staff.

They also hosted a ‘guess the weight of the cake’ and a ‘guess the name of the teddy’ competition, as well as a raffle and tombola on their winter social day. Students also made cakes and decorations to sell to visitors and staff.

Kimberley Gunter, Manager of The Willow Tree Centre, said “The enterprise program at Willow Tree is a great opportunity for learners to gain a wide range of benefits. The program focuses on helping learners develop essential life skills that will serve them well in many areas of their life.

“These include communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and decision-making. Learners are given the chance to put these skills into action, working together to create a product or service that has real-world value.

“By working together towards a common goal, learners feel a sense of unity and accomplishment. They also gain valuable experience in self-advocacy, as they choose their own enterprise products and take ownership over their work.

“I am incredibly proud of the effort shown by the students in their enterprise project at the Winter Social event. They worked hard to create sellable items that they could promote and sell to parents and carers. The students enjoyed creating items collaboratively, working on various aspects of production. I look forward to seeing their creations for our Easter Enterprise.”

Students also get to decide what they would like to spend any monies made on, giving them full advocacy from start to finish.

After a vote, the students have decided to spend their hard-earned funds on outdoor equipment such as benches, sun shelters and football goals. They also want to expand their horticulture area with a new garden shed, poly tunnels, plants and vegetable seeds in order to make their own produce.