Tailoring the skills of Waddesdon School students

Year nine students at a Buckinghamshire school recently experienced what it takes to be a screen printer thanks to Refuel Apparel.

Anna Moores, pre-production manager at Refuel Apparel and a former textiles student at Waddesdon Church of England School, created a plan for the group of seven students to work collaboratively with her throughout the summer term to design and produce T shirts within an industrial working environment.

Initially the students were asked to create mood boards based on a fashion designer of their own choice. Ms Moores then explained, on a practical level, how they could formulate concepts and designs for the T shirts and how that would translate into print and affect the textiles aspects.

Waddesdon CofE students completed a day of practical training at Refuel Apparel, in Westcott Venture Park, on Monday, June 22 when they watched their designs, which had been digitally prepared for printing by Ms Moores, being put onto screens and then were able to observe the entire print process. The project is ongoing as the students are now further embellishing the resulting T shirts, working on the textile aspects, overlaying with stitching, and taking their T shirt designs that one step further.

Ms Moores said: “There are very few opportunities for students to gain experience in the industry, so we believe this has been a fantastic chance for Waddesdon CofE School students as it has provided them with a firsthand understanding of the industry before they venture into higher education.

“The students were very interested to learn how my career had developed and where I had found opportunities.

“This initiative has been both exciting and rewarding to work on so many levels, personally it was great to give these 13 year olds a head start on their journey into the industry, caring and supporting the communities we live in is very important to us at Refuel Apparel and we are committed to giving back.

“But I suppose most importantly and from a newly established business standpoint, this initiative has been instrumental in raising awareness on a local level, not only for our business services but also for prospective future employees.”