Ballakermeen High School student Lizzie Beard has earned a work placement with leading offshore law firm Appleby after being named winner of the Appleby Academy title.

After an inspiring final of the annual programme, Lizzie was selected as the winner by a panel of four judges. The Year 12 student was praised for her presentation on Corporate Social Responsibility, which focused on further increasing Appleby employee engagement in the firm’s charity work through a variety of strategies and long-term schemes to be applied throughout the year.

It was a difficult decision for the judges due to the high standard of all three finalists; Tamsyn Hope from Ramsey Grammar School, whose presentation focused on her strategy for increasing staff integration, and Queen Elizabeth II High School student Chloe Convery, whose project focused on IT security, were both commended for their excellent work.

The Appleby Academy is organised in partnership with Junior Achievement Isle of Man and aims to give sixth form students in the Isle of Man experience of working in an international organisation and some of the challenges businesses face.

Each student is paired with an Appleby mentor and given a business scenario to examine and report on. The three finalists had five minutes each to deliver a presentation outlining their solutions to the challenge and answer questions from the judging panel. This year the panel included Appleby Isle of Man Managing Partner Faye Moffett, Appleby Isle of Man Corporate Partner Claire Milne, Isle of Man Government Director of Learning, Education and Development Clare Porter and Karen Badgerow, Chief Executive of the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority.

After lengthy deliberations Lizzie was awarded the 2016 Appleby Academy title and a paid summer placement at the international law firm’s Douglas office.

Faye Moffett said: “Every year we are delighted by the exceptional work produced by our Appleby Academy finalists and in 2016 it was, once again, a difficult decision to choose a winner from such a talented and confident group.

“The Academy sets students a substantial challenge, to examine a detailed business scenario and offer workable solutions, and then asks the finalists to present their findings to our judging panel and answer some quite searching questions. It is a tough task but our 2016 finalists were outstanding.

“I’d like to congratulate all the students who took part in the Appleby Academy this year, especially our finalists, and look forward to welcoming Lizzie to Appleby next summer.”

Junior Achievement Chief Executive Sue Cook added: “As they prepare to leave school, it is a great benefit for students to be able to gain experience of the working world to combine with their academic qualifications. Participating in the Appleby Academy is an opportunity to develop skills and experience which future employers will value and Junior Achievement is very grateful for the continued support of Appleby and its staff.”

Photo - The 2016 Appleby Academy judges and finalists (from left) Claire Milne, Tamsyn Hope, Chloe Convery, Clare Porter, Lizzie Beard, Karen Badgerow and Faye Moffett.