Member Article

All in a day's work for intu Metrocentre's new Heads of Fun

Two north east youngsters have swapped the school playground for the stage as they started their year as intu Metrocentre’s new Heads of Fun in style.

Laina Greer, 7, from Northumberland and Oliver Gibson, 8, from Monkseaton dived straight into their new roles at intu Metrocentre, Europe’s largest retail and leisure destination. Their first day on the job included meeting the shopping centre mascots, the Metrognomes, and performing on stage to hundreds of children during the free spring pantomime.

The official induction also gave the new recruits the chance to try on their new uniform, have their staff photos taken and meet the intu Metrocentre team, followed by an exclusive pizza making experience at MOD Pizza.

As Heads of Fun Laina and Oliver will be responsible for making sure that the centre continues to be child friendly, providing a host of free fun events and activities for children in the region and giving intu Metrocentre insight into the views of its youngest visitors.

The enthusiastic new mini-executives fought off stiff competition from hundreds of applicants from across the north east to bag the dream role which allows the children the opportunity to experience money can’t buy fun with the centre’s retailers as well as the chance to play a huge part in the centre’s events.

From performing onstage with the Metrognomes and sampling the children’s menus at intu Metrocentre’s extensive dining quarter to testing the latest must-have toys – Laina and Oliver are guaranteed to have a memorable year.

Helen Atkinson, marketing manager at intu Metrocentre, said:

“We were inundated with applications from talented children from across the north east, which made narrowing down finalists a real challenge!

“When Laina came in for her interview she was an absolute delight – imaginative, witty and lively. She loved the idea of being a Head of Fun – especially the chance to be creative, make new friends and meet the Metrognomes and she had put together a wonderful collage with lots of fun ideas for the year ahead.”

“Oliver has a strong sense of fun but the judges were also really impressed by his caring and considerate nature. During the interview he mentioned that he doesn’t have a specific best friend as he believes everyone is equal; teamwork is a vital part of being a Head of Fun and we knew then that he was the perfect candidate for the role.

“We’re delighted to welcome both children to the intu Metrocentre team – they’re a real asset to the centre and their enthusiasm and youthful perspective is wonderfully infectious!”

Laina Greer, Head of Fun at intu Metrocentre, added:

“I’m so excited about being Head of Fun with Oliver – we’re going to have the best year ever! I love singing so being on stage with the Metrognomes was brilliant. I even got my intu Metrocentre uniform which totally makes me part of the team. Now I just need to see if being Head of Fun means I can go shopping in my pyjamas!”

Oliver Gibson, Head of Fun at intu Metrocentre, commented:

“I’m really looking forward to our year ahead - I love coming to intu Metrocentre so it’s amazing to be a Head of Fun. I can’t wait to see what exciting things we’re going to get up to – I think me and Laina are going to have lots of adventures!”

Laina and Oliver will also be involved in intu Metrocentre’s free kids club which is getting a re-vamp for 2018. Launching on 26 May the much anticipated free family club will have a host of exclusive benefits, gifts, inspirational ideas and opportunities to enjoy quality time together as a family with intu.

Families can register now online and will be automatically entered into a free prize draw to win a £2,000 Virgin Holidays voucher.

Fun facts about Laina and Oliver:

Laina’s top things to do are singing, gymnastics and watching The Greatest Showman. She also loves dogs and her favourite breakfast is noodles with a fried egg on top!

Oliver’s favourite things include the film Mr Popper’s Penguins, Doctor Who and the band Queen. He loves playing video games with his friends and is a big fan of Marvel.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Suhaine Baptie .