Nottingham Business School students support local primary school with ambitious expansion plans

Welbeck Primary, located in the Meadows area of Nottingham, is a community-focused school with a strong track record of educational excellence.

The school is seeking to transition into an ‘All-Through’ institution, offering continuous education from nursery through to age 16. The move is aimed at improving educational outcomes and strengthening community ties in one of the city’s most diverse and economically challenged districts.

As part of their Consultancy Experience Project, four students from MSc Economics and Finance courses at NBS, part of Nottingham Trent University, were tasked with supporting the school’s vision by providing socio-economic research and strategic analysis.

Under academic supervision, the students compiled a detailed profile of the local area, evaluated the benefits of the proposed school model, and developed a comprehensive Logic Model to demonstrate long-term impact.

Their findings, presented in a professional report, were instrumental in shaping the school’s business case.

Welbeck Primary School headteacher, Rebecca Gittins, praised the students’ contribution: “It was hugely helpful during conversations with members of parliament, the Mayor and Nottingham City Council to have access to the team’s research insights. The students understood, believed and embedded themselves into the vision, ensuring all relevant data points supported the proposal.”

NBS is in the top 1% of business schools in the world to hold triple crown accreditation by EQUIS, AACSB, and AMBA - globally recognised hallmarks of excellence and quality for business education.

It regularly partners with organisations across the region to offer students hands-on consultancy experience. These projects provide valuable insights for clients while giving students the chance to make a meaningful impact.

The consultancy project gave the students a unique opportunity to apply their academic learning to a real-world challenge as a structured part of their Master’s degree studies.

They were supported by Will Rossiter, Professor of Regional Policy and Development and director of the Centre for Economy, Policy and Place at Nottingham Business School.

Professor Rossiter commented: “Despite there being four local primary schools in the Meadows, there is no secondary provision in this part of Nottingham. On leaving primary school, children are dispersed to up to 15 secondary schools across the City. The students helped to identify the educational and community development outcomes that an all-through school can deliver.

"This project provided a great example of the kind of experiential learning opportunities that NBS provides to its students. It also shows that student-led research and knowledge exchange projects can contribute to real-world societal impact. It was a privilege to contribute to such a potentially transformative project led by an inspirational team at Welbeck Primary School.”

Laura Lucik, one of the student consultants, said: “It was clear from the outset that this wasn’t just an academic exercise; our work was needed and valued. Seeing how seriously the school treated the project made me realise the outcome had the potential to be future changing.

“It transformed the way I approached the work. We weren’t just analysing data, we were helping build a foundation for a long-term community uplift. Overall, the project pushed us outside our comfort zones. It challenged not just our academic abilities, but also our interpersonal, analytical, and professional skills.”

Fellow student and teammate, Adeyemi Ebo, added: “Applying economic planning and policy analysis to a real-world challenge deepened my understanding of my studies. We overcame both practical and academic challenges and learned as much during the process as we did in creating the final deliverable.”

One of the most significant challenges the team resolved was adapting their research approach to the realities of the project.

As Shamini Balachandran, the only member of the team studying MSc Finance and Investment Banking, explains: “Adapting the available information to the specific context of the Meadows in Nottingham required careful filtering and standardisation, as the data came in varied formats. Adjusting our research plan when primary data collection wasn’t possible required us to rethink our approach.”

This flexibility ensured that the final recommendations were grounded in robust analysis despite limitations, demonstrating the team’s ability to apply critical thinking and methodological rigor under pressure.

Organisations interested in working with NBS student consultants can contact: NBSStudentProjects@ntu.ac.uk

For further information on Welbeck Primary School’s vision for the expansion, visit: https://www.welbeckmeadows.co.uk/