Westgate Oxford hosts Made in Oxford 2025 initiative, encouraging next generation to reimagine future of retail
Westgate Oxford has hosted its enterprise challenge, ‘Made in Oxford’, with four local schools.
Made in Oxford is a cross-school competition with students tasked with designing a brand-new community space for the city before going head to head in Dragons’ Den-style pitches. Centred around the theme ‘reimagining their local retail space’, the project challenged Oxford pupils to present their ideas and vision for retail in the future, while considering the broader impact retail space has on the local area.
For its fifth year, Made in Oxford invited four schools to participate, doubling its scope from previous years. Year 10 students from Greyfriars Catholic school, Oxford Spires Academy, The Cherwell School, and John Masons School took part in three workshops at Westgate Oxford which replicated real-life design processes. This included creative placemaking, community and customer insights, and environmental sustainability hosted by professionals at Westgate Oxford, before the students developed their own ideas for a retail space to best serve their community in Oxford.
The teams presented their ideas to an expert panel, showcasing the principles learned during the workshops. The pitches addressed all aspects of creating a sustainable retail space, including establishing their concept, understanding their key audience, and shared how they would design and market the space. The final presentations included concept diagrams, mood boards and branding, survey questions for customer research, example social media content and key points on sustainability.
‘Made in Oxford’ aims to showcase the vital role young people can play in transforming the retail landscape into a dynamic force for positive change within their communities. In recent years, physical retail has shifted towards creating experiences, with shopping centres evolving into social hubs that foster and strengthen community connections.
The school engagement project is delivered by Westgate Oxford, its parent company Landsec, and Ahead Partnership, and is funded by the Landsec Futures Fund. The £20m social impact fund is dedicated to enhancing social value to the communities it serves.
This is the second year of the challenge, providing an opportunity for 50 Oxford-based students to benefit from the Landsec Futures Fund.
Brendan Hattam, Centre Director at Westgate Oxford, said: “Made in Oxford is a wonderful initiative that encourages students to explore their creativity within the retail sector. Listening to the perspectives of the younger generation offers fresh inspiration for creating retail experiences that resonate with their needs and interests.
“Working with Ahead Partnership, who have already supported over 10,000 young people through their continued partnership with Landsec, helps us ensure that the work we’re doing has a tangible impact within our local community. We are now in our fifth year of running the competition here at Westgate Oxford, and have now doubled the number of schools invited to partake in the competition. This allows more students the opportunity to learn everything they need to know about taking an idea from its first draft to its design and pitch, whilst building self-confidence and skills to further develop their own career paths.”
Georgina Johnson, Programme Manager at Ahead Partnership said: “It has been a privilege to work with Westgate Oxford and Landsec to bring the Made In Oxford challenge to a new cohort of students for the fifth year running. We have been so impressed by all the ideas shared by students that showcase their creativity and vision for the future of retail.
“It has been brilliant to see the team at Westgate Oxford and Landsec come together to support the next generation to develop essential employability skills while acting as role models of their professions, helping to connect more young people to opportunities in their area.”
The winning team from this year’s event was Silk Road from Oxford Spires Academy, winning a trophy for their school and the chance to compete in a national final.
For more information, please visit https://www.westgateoxford.co.uk/en
ENDS
Notes to Editors
This information has been distributed on behalf of Westgate Oxford by Umpf. For further information please contact westgate@umpf.co.uk or call 0800 4 10 20 10.
Westgate Oxford
Westgate Oxford is a modern retail and leisure destination, attracting world-class retailers and leisure facilities to the historic city of Oxford.
With over 100 brands and 20 restaurants, bars and cafes, Westgate Oxford offers a unique retail experience in the heart of Oxford.
Find out more at www.westgateoxford.co.uk
About Ahead Partnership
Ahead Partnership is a market-leader in developing ESG solutions that deliver measurable social impact. We build partnerships with purpose that connect young people to opportunity.
For the past 20 years, we have facilitated and managed complex partnerships that support young people to develop essential skills for their future careers, provide development opportunities for employers and their teams, and ultimately seek to address skills, diversity and inclusivity challenges.
We work across sectors including built environment, digital and technology, transport, health and care, professional and financial services and the green economy. Our corporate partners include businesses such as Landsec, First Group, Sulzer, MEPC and Pinsent Masons, as well as public bodies such as the NHS, Combined Authorities and Local Authorities.
Through our award-winning work, employers can play an active role in developing young talent and support the creation of a successful, resilient society where everyone, regardless of their background, can succeed.
Find out more at www.aheadpartnership.org.uk
