Small Company

Winning Company:

The Drumnadrochit Hotel, Inverness-shire

Entry:

Hotel for a day

The success:

Giving the pupils of Glen Urquhart High School the chance to run the hotel for a day measurably improved their confidence to work with adults and relate to each other and their teachers. More pupils than ever gained the Welcome Host hospitality award and hotel staff also gained a clearer understanding of how wide the abilities of pupils are.

The project:

The idea was for the small rural school of 133 pupils to develop enterprising skills while fostering education business links between the school and an important local business. The aim was to influence the careers development of all pupils involved.

The pupils were offered the chance to work for the Welcome Host certificate, a course for people working or intending to work in the hospitality trade - a vital industry to the Highlands of Scotland. Pupils were put through their paces by a local trainer during a full day in the hotel lounge. Pupils scrutinised every aspect of the hotel from marketing and sales to a rigorous examination of its reputation as a first-class hotel.

What the deputy head, Eddie Broadley, said: “Running a hotel for a day gives all of us a major insight into the world of our most important industry. ”