Winning students makeover St Margaret’s shops

Two teams of talented students from the UAL Level 3 Fashion, Business & Retail Extended Diploma course at Bridgwater College have won the ‘Wex Window Display Install’ window display competition, earning the opportunity to take over St Margaret’s Hospice shops in Taunton and Bridgewater for four days.

The winning team spent a few weeks designing and executing their display, from mood boards to prop selection, culminating in a beautifully pastel-coloured window inspired by their chosen theme, ‘Spring Rainy Day’. Their efforts impressed the judges, showcasing creativity, teamwork, and real-world retail experience.

“I greatly enjoyed working with St Margaret’s Hospice on this project as it gave me a valuable insight into visual merchandising—the career I want to pursue. It was also a great opportunity to develop teamwork and delegation skills to meet deadlines.”

Lydia, a member of the winning team

“This gave me a great insight into retail and allowed me to be creative. I worked on the raindrops, flowers used for props, and the PowerPoint presentation, as well as selecting the female outfit for our display.”

First-year fashion design student Millie

“I aspire to design clothing for dancers, so working on this project was invaluable. I learned to use Photoshop to create visuals for our presentation, but also developed key teamwork skills like coordination, setting timelines, and the importance of punctuality. I even kept a vlog to document our progress—it was incredibly rewarding to see everything come together.”

Lola

“I focused on proposing mood boards, selecting colours, and developing our strategy. Our theme, ‘Spring Rainy Day,’ tied everything together. I also designed the small flowers we used as props. The best part was how we all contributed equally—it was a true team effort, and that’s why we won.”

Melissa, the team’s researcher

The runner-up team displayed great visuals on the day and during the experience day at the Taunton shop. Their strong team cohesion, well-prepared presentation, and beautifully themed visuals featuring florals and pastel-coloured vines truly stood out. It’s fantastic to see how well everyone worked together and how ready they are to take on the retail world!

The competition not only showcased the students’ creative talents but also provided them with hands-on experience in retail, visual merchandising, and project management. Their hard work and collaboration resulted in a striking display that caught the judges’ attention and brought fresh energy to St Margaret’s Hospice Shop.

St Margaret’s Hospice is delighted with the outcome and grateful for the students’ dedication, highlighting the value of partnerships between education and local charities.

If you have great examples of partnership between charity retail and the education sector, please email Susan at susan@charityretail.org.uk

07/03/2025 11:00