Wrenbury Student Emma Walker On Junior Apprentice (From Crewe Guardian)

Wrenbury Student Emma Walker On Junior Apprentice

10:40am Friday 25th June 2010 in

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AN enterprising Crewe student has gone head to head with business tycoon Alan Sugar in the Junior Apprentice.

Emma Walker finally bowed out of the popular TV show after pushing her business skills to the limit against other young hopefuls from up and down the country.

The cut throat programme, headed by Lord Sugar, was aired on BBC One on Wednesday evenings over the past six weeks and proved to be a survival of the fittest.

It challenged young contestants with a passion for business to complete a series of tasks ranging from selling cheese and creating branded cup cakes for department store shoppers.

Emma is studying A Levels in Maths, Economics, Business Studies, Biology and Politics at South Cheshire College.

Emma lived in a luxurious Georgian townhouse in Islington, London throughout the duration of the show, filmed in September.

The Wrenbury 17-year-old was one of more than 28,000 ambitious hopefuls who applied to take part in the programme but just ten made the cut.

Contestants were selected for their burning passion for business and entrepreneurial flair and battled it out over six tasks.

Emma said: “I’d never really seen The Apprentice before but my mum watched it and when she saw they were taking applications for the junior version of the show she encouraged me to give it a go.

“I was offered a number of auditions and couldn’t believe it when I was selected to be on the programme - it was like a dream come true.

"When the filming took place we only saw Alan Sugar in the same light as viewers have done on TV over the past six weeks.

“I think the fact that he is so ruthless is a good thing because he lets you know what your weak points are and you know exactly what you have to do to improve.

"There’s nowhere to hide.”

Emma, a former pupil at Brine Leas High School in Nantwich, was backed by South Cheshire College who allowed her to take time out from her studies to film the show.

She was also supported every step of the way by her parents, family and college friends and classmates.

Emma is going on to a specialist Business Academy in Manchester when she finishes her studies at South Cheshire College’s Dane Bank Avenue campus.

She added: “When you go into the show, you know that £25,000 can change your life and future prospects but I think appearing on the programme has done that anyway.

“My confidence is now sky-high because I was never that confident before and I feel as though I can tackle things head-on.

“To meet people like Lord Sugar and Richard Branson was just something you’d never normally get the opportunity to do at such a young age and it was unbelievable.

“Although everyone on the show was very competitive I’ve made some lifelong friends and have met up with them since the show was filmed.

"The whole experience was something I’ll never forget.”