RFC / RHS Business Studies Initiative

Rhyl Football Club has further enhanced its links with the towns High School through two new initiatives.Year 11 pupils were approached by Lilywhites Commercial Director Mal Jackson to form a Rhyl FC junior board which will help in their business studies curriculum learning.

Meeting every week, the board will look at developing ideas that can help the club raise its profile locally. Areas to be covered are Sales and Marketing, Advertising, Business Planning, Budgeting and Community Development - All areas the pupils learn about in business studies lessons. Seven pupils, Mr Jackson and Business Studies teacher Paul Evans meet each week to discuss issues that can affect not just a football club but any business, large or small.

The idea came to me from the fact clubs need to analyse their target audience and develop initiatives that will attract them to watch our games, said Mr Jackson. Clearly young people are our future customers, so what better way than gaining their support by working with them to gain their ideas/suggestions and putting them into practice. The team at the school have already impressed me with some of the excellent ideas they have to help promote the club.

I have already been in contact with local businesses who are also going to attend future meetings to discuss how a sponsor can gain maximum benefit from being in partnership with Rhyl FC. The football club has also linked up with Rhyl High to help the school develop pupils literacy skills by raising the awareness of the benefits of reading books. Using a selection of players who are regular readers of books, Rhyl HS aim to use them as role models in encouraging pupils of all ages to read more. Photos of players reading their favourite book, supported with a brief explanation of why they actually read and the enjoyment and knowledge they get from it, will be displayed at the school.