The Challenger Academy

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The Challenger Academy

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Our goal is to spark a passion and create a pathway for young 'challengers' to thrive in a creative career within their own community.

Formerly VCCP Stoke Academy, our mission is to make the creative industries more accessible and socially diverse through valuable work experience, free skills training and career guidance for young people. Formerly VCCP Stoke Academy, The Challenger Academy in Stoke-on-Trent is a charity with a mission to make the advertising and creative industries more accessible and socially diverse through valuable work experience opportunities, skills training and career guidance.

25/09/2026

🚀 Building your personal brand starts with knowing yourself.

Today, our we had the privilege of delivering Personal Branding workshops to Year 10 boys from Stockport Academy, Manchester Academy and William Hulme’s Grammar School, as part of the London School of Economics Generate: Bridge Programme.

The session focused on helping young people understand how to confidently communicate who they are, what makes them different and what they can bring to the world.

Together, we explored:
✨ Developing an authentic personal brand
💡 Identifying your USP — what makes you, YOU
🗣️ Finding your own tone of voice
🤝 Interview conduct and making a strong first impression
💪 Building self-belief and confidence

A huge thank you to LSE and all the students for their energy, openness and willingness to get involved. It was fantastic to see so many young people beginning to recognise their strengths and understand the value of showing up as their authentic selves. 🌟

01/09/2026

4 weeks. 4 big brands. 1 unforgettable summer. 💥

🏆 Thursday marked the final day of the Best Summer Job Ever internship with our wonderful agency partner VCCP. Our 8 talented Stoke interns spent the last month diving headfirst into the advertising world—working on briefs for Sekonda, Co-op, Just Eat, and Tango before delivering their final pitch presentations in London.

✨ Here is a look back at what went down over the last 4 weeks:

🚀Core Industry Foundations: Deep dives into planning, data, account management, strategy, and creative development, all guided by VCCP mentors.
🤖 AI & Tech Masterclasses: Learning the future of AI & emerging tech with faith (VCCP’s AI agency) and getting a hands-on design session with Adobe on Adobe Express & Firefly.
🏙️ Field Trips & London Visits: Workshops with local partners like Carse & Waterman, alongside weekly trips to VCCP London to meet teams including Bernadette, Cowry, Girl & Bear and VCCP Roar.
📣Professional Brand & Platform Growth: Professional headshots in the social studio, dynamic presentation-prep and networking workshops, and an exclusive trip to LinkedIn’s London offices to learn how to leverage the platform for career success.
🎤 The Big Finish: Pitching their final campaign ideas to industry leaders and real clients.

To our 2026 cohort: You brought the ideas, the hustle, and the passion every single day. We couldn’t be prouder of what you’ve accomplished! 👏

Huge thanks to VCCP and all our partners, mentors, and guest speakers who made this internship possible. Above all, a massive thank you to Lynsey Monroe, the driving force behind the programme. Thanks to her vision, curriculum design, and dedicated mentorship, our interns leave with the absolute best skills training this industry has to offer.

🔥Swipe to see the journey from Week 1 to the final pitch ➡️

03/08/2026

Welcome to the team! 👋✨

Today, we officially kicked off the Best Summer Job Ever internship at VCCP Stoke! We’re thrilled to welcome 8 brilliant new interns to the family.

Over the next 4 weeks, this crew will be diving headfirst into the creative industries, building new skills and learning how to craft campaigns for some of VCCP's biggest brands. From the initial brief to strategy, creative concepting, and the final pitch, they’ll be doing it all alongside our team of industry experts. 🚀

We can’t wait to see how they get on! Drop a warm welcome in the comments below! 👇

09/07/2026

Today, we were proud to attend ’s Summer Reception at the Houses of Parliament, where leaders from across the creative industries came together to discuss the future of one of the UK’s most important sectors.

From building the creative workforce of tomorrow and unlocking investment, to protecting creativity in the age of AI and ensuring every region can thrive, the message was clear: creativity is a national priority.

One message particularly resonated with us. Jo Platt MP spoke about the importance of ensuring that every young person—regardless of their postcode or circumstances—has the opportunity to access creative careers.

That’s exactly why The Challenger Academy exists.

We’re proud to champion young people beyond London, break down barriers to opportunity, and help the next generation develop the creative confidence and essential skills our economy needs.

Thank you to Creative UK for bringing together so many passionate voices to help shape the future of the UK’s creative industries.

12/04/2026

It’s now or never! ⏳

Today is your LAST CHANCE to apply for the Best Summer Job Ever internship with and . Applications officially close tonight at 11:59 PM.

If you’ve been sitting on that application, this is your sign to hit send! Show us your challenger spirit and you might spend your summer creating work that actually matters. 🚀

Apply before the clock strikes midnight!
🔗 Link in Bio or visit www.thechallengeracademy.org/internship

06/04/2026

⏰Time is running out!⏰

There’s just one week to go until applications close for the Best Summer Job Ever internship!

Over the course of 4-weeks this summer, you will gain valuable skills training and learn how to create your own campaigns for prominent brands. All in a supportive team environment where you will receive guidance and mentorship from creative industry leaders!

There are 8 paid places up for grabs at our partner, global advertising agency, in Stoke.

To apply, head to our link in bio or visit thechallengeracademy.org/internship

Don’t let this one pass you by!

01/04/2026

🛑 Stop scrolling and start applying! ✨

There are only 12 DAYS LEFT to apply to the Best Summer Job Ever internship. 🚀

We’re looking for the next generation of creative disruptors, strategic thinkers, and makers to join in Stoke in August for an internship like no other. If you're one of the 8 successful applicants, you'll have the opportunity to get stuck into real creative briefs for some of the world's biggest brands.

💡 The Deets:
What: The Best Summer Job Ever internship

Eligibility: Must be aged 18 or over

Deadline: Sunday, 12th April @ 11:59 PM

Where: Link in bio to apply or visit thechallengeracademy.org/intership

Don’t let the deadline sneak up on you. Whether you’re a natural-born challenger or just ready to kickstart your career in the creative industries, we want to see what you’ve got.

The clock is ticking! ⏳

19/03/2026

If this is the answer, just imagine what the question was! 🦈

To find out whether a career in the creative industries that runs on this kind of thinking would suit you, apply now for the ‘Best Summer Job Ever’ internship and get paid to come up with answers like this! 👆

Over the course of 4-weeks this summer, you will gain valuable skills training and learn how to create your own campaigns for prominent brands, moving through the process from briefing to strategy, creative concepting to final presentation. All in a supportive team environment where you will have guidance and mentorship from the best in our industry. 🏆

We’ve partnered with award-winning, Stoke-based creative agencies VCCP and Lesniak Swann to offer 12 paid internship places across 2 agencies and you don’t need any experience to apply. You just need to be 18+ and live in Staffordshire. 🙌

So what are you waiting for? Click our link in bio to apply or visit https://www.thechallengeracademy.org/internships 😎

11/12/2025

Last week we held the Biggest Pitch of the Year semi-finals for our Stoke students from Stoke on Trent College, The City of Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College, NSCG Newcastle and NSCG Stafford. 🎤✨

Student teams pitched their campaign ideas in response to a brief from Music Venue Trust:
➡️ How do we get more young people to visit their local grassroots music venues?

Every pitch blew our judges from VCCP and Music Venue Trust away! The creativity, quality and confidence were unreal 🔥

A huge congratulations to the winning teams from each Stoke college!

In January, we will see the campaigns from Bilborough College in Nottingham who have been supported by OLIVER agency.

The winning teams with then be heading to London in March 2026 for the Grand Finale, going head-to-head to be crowned the Ultimate Biggest Pitch Winner 🏆🎶

We’re so proud of the young people on this programme — they walk away with real-world skills in teamwork, presenting, digital creation and communication.

The future looks bright! 🙌✨

18/11/2025

We’re excited to share a major milestone for The Challenger Academy! 📣

Today, we announced the expansion of our flagship work experience programme for sixth form students, The Biggest Pitch of the Year, from Stoke-on-Trent into Nottingham, thanks to a new partnership with the brilliant team ! Click our link in bio to read the coverage in 👆

What began in 2021 as a local pilot created by to tackle the creative industry’s widening diversity and talent pipeline crisis, has now become a blueprint for other agencies to adopt. And that is only possible because of the incredible volunteers, partners, colleges, and students who have built this programme with us. 💪

With OLIVER joining the movement, this eight-week crash course in advertising is being delivered to students at in Nottingham, while VCCP continues its work with four amazing colleges across Stoke.

A few highlights from the announcement:

💥 The programme has grown from one to four colleges in Stoke and has already delivered nearly 10,000 hours of creative education in less than five years.

🤖 This year’s curriculum includes digital and AI skills training, thanks to new partnerships with Adobe and OLIVER’s demonstration of Pencil, their GenAI marketing platform.

🎸 Students in both regions are responding to a brief co-developed with , tackling issues facing grassroots music venues.

This is the first step in scaling a model designed to open doors for young people who might otherwise be overlooked, and we’re calling on more agencies, brands, and regional partners to join us as we expand further in 2026.

A huge thanks to OLIVER and their passionate team of mentors! 🙌

Creative talent exists everywhere. Opportunity doesn’t. We’re working on changing that, one region at a time. 🚀

Address

Stoke-on-Trent

Website

http://www.thechallengeracademy.org/

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