News / 31 Jul 2026
Graduate wins overall prize at School of Thought Leeds 2026
BA (Hons) Marketing Communications
Robbo Robinson, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising (now BA (Hons) Marketing Communications) graduate, has won the overall prize at this year’s School of Thought Leeds.
School of Thought is a fast-paced 12-week course for emerging creatives ran by professionals from creative industries across the North. The programme takes place twice a year in Leeds and Manchester, with only 12 participants selected for each intake. Across the 12 weeks, Robbo responded to a wide range of agency briefs, with a focus of developing and pitching big ideas.
“It's been a fantastic opportunity to meet new people across Leeds' agencies and give them a taste of who I am and how I tackle a brief. The kind of stuff I work on in my day-to-day job is quite different from what we were doing on SOT, so it's given me a nice new chunk of a variety of campaigns to add in my portfolio (and, of course a nice shiny accreditation to add to it!)”
Robbo Robinson, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising graduate
The programme culminated in an awards ceremony at Belgrave Music Hall, where Robbo took home the IMA Connection Award, The Strike Where it Matters Award, and the overall School of Thought Leeds 2026 award. As part of the overall award win, Robbo will be going to next year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the largest global gathering of creatives from advertising, marketing and communications.
“This time next year I'll be heading to Cannes International Festival of Creativity (a.k.a. the big advertising awards week). When I'm there I'll get the chance to see loads of interesting talks, fancy awards ceremonies and drink many, many Aperols on the beach. It's an insane opportunity to have at this point in my career, so I'm incredibly excited and massively thankful to Phil and Julian from SOT for making it possible!”
Robbo Robinson, BA (Hons) Creative Advertising graduate
Reflecting on what they learnt during their time at School of Thought, Robbo says “Trust your own thinking. No idea is too bold. Make sure everything is on brief. Brand yourself. Keep it simple. Don't write copy at two in the morning.”