Greensteps Competition Day

Our Competition Day offers a diverse range of creative, physical, and entrepreneurial challenges for individuals and small teams. Categories include pitching business ideas, crafting beach collages from natural materials, inclusive sports challenges, jam jar art using recycled items and more.

Date: Tuesday 10 June 2025 

Time: 1pm-3pm

Address: Greensteps, Uckington, Cheltenham.
How to find us

Our Competition Day offers a diverse range of creative, physical, and entrepreneurial challenges for individuals and small teams. Categories include pitching business ideas, crafting beach collages from natural materials, inclusive sports challenges, jam jar art using recycled items, Victoria sponge baking, animal photography, and fruit and veg sculptures.  

Each activity promotes key skills – from teamwork and innovation to fine motor skills and self-expression. Entry fees range from £5 to £10 depending on the category. Multiple entries are discounted – £5 fee per extra entry.

We welcome learners based at Greensteps and learners from Gloucestershire schools and colleges (aged 16+) on a Work Based and Employability Learning Programme.

Categories

Dragon’s Den
To teach business skills and encourage students to think outside the box.   

  • Teams of 1-3 individuals 
  • Pitch ideas to a panel of judges in less than five minutes 
  • Answer a few questions at the end of the pitch, asked by the panel 
  • Entry for this category is £10 (for up to three people) 

Natural Beach Scene
Encourages creativity and helps develop fine motor skills.

  • Using only natural materials, create a collage of a beach scene. 
  • Stick/attach to an A4 piece of card or paper 
  • Entry for this category is £10 

Sports Challenge
Improves physical and mental well-being, increased confidence, and enhanced social skills. It also offers opportunities to develop transferable skills. 

  • Teams of two
  • Test your skills with our inclusive activities including: 
  • Bean Bag throwing, Goal scoring, Ball balancing and more! 
  • Entry for this category is £10 per team of two 

Jam Jar Art
Allows for creative expression and repurposing of materials, while in financial contexts, it aids in budgeting and savings.

  • Fill a standard sized jam jar with a scene of your choice, using only recycled or sustainable materials 
  • Entry for this category is £10 

Baking Category: Victoria Sponge
Improves fine motor skills, sensory stimulation, and opportunities for social interaction and confidence building. Can also enhance numeracy and literacy skills through recipe following and measurement.   

  • Bake and traditionally decorate an 8–10 inch Victoria Sponge cake 
  • Entry for this category is £5 (as ingredients to be provided by the applicant)
  • Please ensure hygiene standards are adhered to for this category

Photography Category: Animals
Confidence building, promoting self-expression, developing skills, and fostering a sense of community. 

  • Take a photo of anything animal related, using a smart phone or compact camera. 
  • No photoshop or editing is permitted 
  • Size displayed no larger than A4 
  • Entry for this category is £10 

Vegetable Art Sculpture
Allows for artistic expression and creativity, offering endless possibilities for unique designs and sculptures. 

  • Using only fruit and vegetables 
  • Create a sculpture no larger than a dinner plate 
  • Not higher than 30 cm. tall 
  • Toothpicks are allowed for structural reinforcement. 
  • The use of minimal stickers is permitted (e.g. Eyes, mouths etc) 
  • Entry for this category is £10 

Writing Challenge

  • Share how young people with disabilities face everyday challenges and all the amazing ways they stay strong, positive, and keep pushing forward, no matter what comes their way. 
  • The piece of writing can be a poem or a short essay with no more than 250 words. 
  • No entry charge 

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Guidelines

Dragons Den

Judging: The “Dragons” evaluate the pitches based on various criteria, such as the creativity of the idea, market potential, financial feasibility, and presentation skills.

Students can:

  • Develop enterprising skills, attitudes and behaviours, including communication skills, teamwork, time management, presentation, problem-solving and decision making
  • Practise and improve their thinking and listening skills;
  • Design and produce innovative products/services
  • Develop business and financial capability through practical experience, especially about dealing with a limited budget.

Natural Beach Scene

Judging:

  • Interpretation and the clarity of the theme, to the judge.
  • Creativity, uniqueness, and originality of the depicted theme.
  • Quality of artistic composition and overall design based on the theme.
  • Colour and tone.
  • Overall impression of the art.

Sports challenges

Judging:

  • Skills based scoring for each event, not timed.

Jam Jar Art

Judging:

  • Judged on the effectiveness of the recycling process
  • The creativity of the design, and
  • The overall presentation.
  • Will consider factors like the ingenuity of material reuse, the originality of the concept, the visual impact, and the craftsmanship involved.

Baking – Victoria Sponge

Judging:

  • Sponge consistency
  • Filling
  • Presentation
  • Taste
  • Consideration to the sponge’s texture, colour, and whether it’s level, and whether the filling is spread evenly and complements the sponge.

Photography Category: Animals

Judging:

  • Impact
  • Creativity
  • Composition
  • Presentation

All entrants receive a goodie bag, a Hot Dog lunch, fun activities on the day (Lego challenge and quiz) and there will be a prize ceremony at the end. Accompanying staff are welcome.