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15th Dec 2025
Last week, first year students from our T Level Business, Accounting, and Marketing courses joined together from both Abingdon and Witney campuses at the Hilton Garden Inn in Abingdon for Venture Vortex 25/26. The day offered an immersive, industry-focused challenge designed to spark entrepreneurial thinking, strengthen professional skills, and help students grow into confident, capable individuals ready to thrive in the modern working world.
Held in the hotel’s conference suites, the event provided a truly professional setting supported by external employers, industry experts and college staff. This placed students at the heart of a real-world business innovation experience.
A day designed for aspiration and ambition
Students arrived dressed in smart, professional attire and were welcomed by Venture Captain and Curriculum Manager, George Crowley, who set a high-energy, high-expectation tone for the day. Students quickly moved into team introductions and initial idea-generation tasks, stepping into the mindset of young professionals ready to create something game changing.
Throughout the morning, teams collaborated to develop original business concepts, ranging from technology and retail to food and beverage. Student’s ideas showcased some exceptional imagination and industry awareness, including; AI-assisted home building, a national gym membership model, a personal finance management app, a medical and fitness monitoring bracelet and a vintage clothing store and diner.
After strengthening their initial ideas, students put them to the test in a fast-paced market research task, delivering 30-second pitches to Venture Specialists and Venture Leaders in a bid to earn investment tokens and receive valuable feedback to refine their ideas.
Learning from industry, growing with confidence
In the afternoon, Venture Specialists spent time revisiting each group, giving them targeted guidance on branding, operations, and financial planning. These sessions helped students deepen essential employability skills including communication, presentation, teamwork, problem-solving, and professional conduct.
Final pitches and celebrating success
The day culminated in polished 10-minute pitches to the full panel of Venture Specialists, with all students demonstrating creativity, confidence, and outstanding teamwork.
Awards were presented for:
Overall Winner – Vinyl Booth
Most Progressed – Orhan Mustafa
Outstanding Performance – Scarlett-May Ritchings
Venture Vortex 25/26 highlighted the ambition and potential of our T Level students, who represented the College with professionalism, respect, and enthusiasm throughout the day. We are incredibly proud of everything they achieved.
