Teens take over at Streatham & Clapham High School

On International Women’s Day (8 March) a group of four students from Streatham & Clapham High School were put in charge of the social media channels of one of the leading international advertising agencies, J.Walter Thompson London.

Students Neisha Dunstan, Kachanda Irwin, Eve King and Alice Kerwin secured this fantastic opportunity when they successfully pitched an advertising campaign for the restaurant chain Wagamama in front of a panel of experts, headed by James Westhead, CEO of J.Walter Thompson London. The girls beat off stiff competition from eight other schools as part of an initiative called ‘Female Tribes’ established by the agency in 2016, which aims to inspire young women of all backgrounds to consider careers in advertising.

The students ‘took over’ the company’s Facebook and Twitter accounts for two weeks, and were solely responsible for sourcing and curating content that explored how gender issues affected them and which female role models they looked to for inspiration.

The girls believe it’s important that more women get into the advertising industry as it’s such a powerful medium with the ability to reach so many people yet has been known to portray a particular type of woman or female body type. When asked who inspired them, the students agreed that it was their mothers. ‘All our mums have taught us that being a woman should never stop you from doing things. They have really good jobs and have shown us that we can achieve anything if we believe in ourselves.’

Catch up on the JWTeen Two Week Takeover: #JWTeenTakeOver and learn more about Female Tribes: https://jwt.co.uk/four-school-girls-take-over-j-walter-thompson-londons-…