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OMNIA
Issue 08 Autumn/Winter 2020
OCA INNOVATION AND COLLABORATION AWARD FINAL 2020 The OCA Innovation and Collaboration Award asks our pupils to work on a project in teams of at least two, which they think solves a problem. During a live final, judges see presentations from some of the most promising groups and then announce a winner, who receives a £1000 prize and the offer of support and mentoring. “Now in its second year,” says judge, President of the OCA and architect of the award, Clive Furness, “and despite the current situation where life has been turned on its head and usual routines have changed dramatically, we had exceptionally strong finalists. The breadth of ideas, strength of collaboration and the clear focus on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues shows not only how positive the Award can be but also demonstrates that the clear social and moral compass that Caterham has always prided itself on is alive and thriving.” All of last year’s judges returned to join Clive on the panel: Headmaster Ceri Jones, Vice-President of the OCA Karin Schulte and current parent Preya Jubraj. The combined business experience of these judges is a force to be reckoned with, but our finalists, who this year came
from three different year groups – First Year, Second Year and Upper Sixth, represented very different ideas and solutions to problems they had identified, and seemed entirely undaunted. Honey Cosmetics made up of First Year pupils Darcey, Tilly, Ruby and Abigail, had created their own line of cosmetics which utilised a honey base. In a gift-wrapped example presented to the judges, there was a lip scrub, face mask and lip gloss, as well as a body scrub. Their presentation was clear and compelling, and they had already got themselves set up on social media to promote their ideas and products. The judges thought that this was a strong group, and one which might be able to grow the idea of promoting eco-friendly, sustainable ‘make your own’ kits celebrated through platforms like Instagram. Biofilm the name of the idea our Second Year pupils Isabelle, Alice, Elisabeth, Sophie and Mathilda came up with, was a homemade potato starch replacement for cling film. It was clear that much research and testing had gone into this idea, with several team members attempting to brew their own potato-based cling film. Their presentation showed broad thinking, noting the
Biofilm (Second Year): Isabelle P Alice K Elisabeth E-S Sophie P Mathilda N-S
Be bold, be brave, be natural with honey cosmetics
Honey Cosmetics (First Year): Darcey B Tilly K Ruby S Abigail C Sara F