Weston College Student Selected For Wessex Water Panel

A Weston College student has been selected for Wessex Water’s Young People’s panel, an enterprise which gives 16-18 year olds the opportunity to experience running a business.

Chris Hutchings, 17, who studies A Level Business Studies, Photography and English at Weston College’s Sixth Form Centre, has been attending meetings at Wessex Water as part of an initiative which enables young people to have a say in how the company is run.

Chris said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for me to benefit from hands on work which will supplement the theory I’ve learnt in class.

“So far it has been an excellent insight into businesses’ decision making processes, and will be good experience when I apply to university.”

At their first meeting last month, the panel met managers at the company and were taken on a tour of the company’s headquarters in Bath.

At the end of the day, the panel was set the task of creating a presentation about ideas to promote the company’s installation of water metres and improve its customer services.

Chris said: “My presentation will be about the creation of a mobile app that would allow people to monitor their water metre readings and automatically budget their water usage for them, to make sure they are saving money and aren’t wasting water.”

Claire Timmins, Business Studies Tutor at the College, said: “Weston College is all about providing students with the skills and experience they need to progress to work or university.

“This opportunity at Wessex Water is another example of or students benefitting from our strong links with employers across the South West.

“I am confident Chris will prove a credit to himself and the College during this placement.”