Yarm students rise to the challenge in Apprentice-style bagel task

Yarm School’s long-running Yarm Apprentice competition has returned for its fourteenth year, with local business Bagel Bros setting this year’s opening challenge.

Bagel Bros is an independent café on Yarm High Street, well known for its freshly prepared bagels, speciality coffees and friendly, community-focused atmosphere. Run by local entrepreneurs Nick Perks and Sam Kempster, the café is a favourite spot for students, families and visitors alike.

Nick and Sam, acting as Lords Sugar for the task, asked Year 12 students to create a Halloween-themed bagel and a social media campaign to promote it. The two teams then pitched their ideas in the school’s boardroom in true Apprentice style.

Team Tenacious, led by Frankie, presented Mummy Madness, a sweet bagel with white chocolate, cherry jam, popping candy and gummy eyes, along with the tagline “Tastes Scarily Good.”

Team The Economasters, led by Mara, offered The High Street Horror, a caramel and chocolate bagel topped with crushed biscuits and marshmallows, paired with a pumpkin chai latte.

After much debate, the judges declared The Economasters the winners, with their delicious offering being made available for a limited time in Bagel Bros.

Sam Kempster from Bagel Bros said: “Both teams put an enormous amount of effort and time into this task, and it was amazing to be part of the activity. We’re looking forward to selling the bagel – a great creation from students at Yarm School!”

Huw Williams, Headmaster at Yarm School said: “This is a wonderful example of Sixth Form students at Yarm taking advantage of the outstanding co-curricular opportunities on offer to them. Yarm Apprentice allows our students to apply their creativity and business thinking to real-world projects, developing important skills of teamwork, initiative, leadership and problem-solving: traits that are highly sought by employers. We value our strong connections with local High Street businesses and are especially grateful to Bagel Bros for their continued support and enthusiasm.”