A team of students from South Essex College’s Southend Campus has been announced as finalists in the SUBWAY® brand’s Design a Sub challenge. The competition, now in its fourth year, challenged young entrepreneurs across the region to design and market a brand new 6-inch Sub.
The shortlisted South Essex College team, the only group from Essex to make it to the finals, is made up of four students: Lauren Cutler, from Rayleigh, Joe Neidus, from Southend, and Tom Wheatstone, from Leigh, all aged 16, and 18-year-old Eloise Cumberland, from Rochford. The creative students produced a unique selection of Subs called the Hit the Road Subs, designed to represent food from different cultures around the world. The tasty trio includes the British Beefeater Sub, the American Supersized Sub and the Mexican Fajita Feast. The pupils now face a nerve-wracking Dragon’s Den style pitch to a panel of SUBWAY® brand experts at St Edmund’s College, Cambridge on Wednesday 27 November, to see who will be crowned the eventual winner.
This year’s competition received over 80 high calibre entries which have been whittled down to just six shortlisted entries. The stakes are high, as the South Essex College team and five other finalists are competing for the chance to see their Sub and marketing material launched in SUBWAY® stores across the region during February 2014, as well as winning £1,000 worth of Amazon vouchers.
Josie Aplin, Business Enterprise Executive at South Essex College, said: “We are so excited to have been selected for the Subway Challenge final! The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy students worked very hard to create their subs which developed their teamwork and communication skills. Team ‘Hit The Road’ have the full support from everyone here at South Essex College!”
SUBWAY® brand entrepreneur Bob Moodliar, sat on the judging panel to shortlist the designs and said: “We would like to thank all of the schools who entered this year’s challenge, we have received some outstanding entries and it was a tough decision deciding who would make it to the final pitch. The six teams of finalists should be proud of their achievement in getting so far in the competition; it is a true testament to all of their hard work and creativity. We are looking forward to seeing their creative pitches at the judging day.”
South Essex College will be competing against this year’s other five finalist schools: Northampton College, The King’s School Peterborough, Thetford Academy, City College Norwich and North Hertfordshire College.
Last year the Design a Sub Challenge was won by Chelmer Valley High School in Chelmsford. South Essex College were previous winners in 2010, the first year the Sub Challenge was held.