Student's Fair Trade Success

Tenacious upper sixth student George Meagher has succeeded in his mission to introduce Fairtrade cola to d'Overbroeck's Sixth Form.

The new cola – made by Ubuntu – has now been introduced at the College, and is already outselling all other soft drinks.

George's campaign began before Christmas when, having found out about Fairtrade cola, he decided to make the proposal to switch the College's supplier. The skills he has picked up in his A level Business Studies course came in useful, allowing him to draw up a business plan to present to Sami Cohen, the College Principal.

Having secured Sami's support, along with a subsidy from the College, George went on to organise a survey and tasting session for the student body – to make sure the new cola met expectations.

Despite clearing all these hurdles, George's plan was almost confounded – literally minutes before agreeing the new deal – when he discovered that the prices he had been quoted did not include VAT.

Through a combination of good fortune (the recent cut in VAT) and negotiation skills, however, George was able to convince the suppliers to reduce their price – by sharing deliveries with another Oxford customer – and was therefore able to overcome this setback.

"I'm definitely glad to see it come to fruition," says George. "And I think it's given me a taste for doing similar things in future."