Young Enterprise - Welsh Finals 24th June
Congratulations Enviro-mental!
Kirsty Woodford, Ellie Davis, Isabelle Davis, Jessica Eades, Laura Thomas, Isla Williams, Laura Gambling, Lauren Barry, Natalie Longman, Mona Kapuria, Sarah Jones were all part of the very successful Young Enterprise Team, ‘Enviro-mental'. They have had many great achievements throughout the year researching, designing and manufacturing a range of products with an environmental theme.
(The presentations at the Welsh finals)
(Enviro-mental collecting their awards at the Welsh Finals)
At the regional level of the competition they have won a variety of awards including ‘Best Trade Stand 2010', ‘Environmental Award 2010', and ‘Best Young Enterprise Company 2010'. They proceeded onto the Welsh Young Enterprise Finals and won the ‘Award for Environmental Awareness 2010'. A fantastic group of future entrepreneurs!
(Enviro-mental's Trade Stand at the Welsh Finals)
Young Enterprise
What is Young Enterprise?
Young Enterprise is a scheme that enables students to set up and run their own business enterprise over the course of one academic year. Young Enterprise operates in more than 5,500 schools, colleges and universities and is the UK's largest business and enterprise education charity. The Young Enterprise Programme is based upon the principle of ‘Learning by doing' and is supported by local businesses who offer advice and support to the students.
Jon Coldman - One of the Business Advisors from Dow Corning
How do we run Young Enterprise at Stanwell?
At Stanwell we run the ‘Young Enterprise Scheme' in both Year 10 and in Year 12. This extracurricular activity is available for all students to be part of, not just those students that have opted to study ‘Applied Business' at GCSE or ‘Business Studies' at AS/A2 level. Currently we have two teams operating in Year 10 and two teams operating in Year 12; showing the popularity of the Scheme within the school.
When students have established their companies they have to decide which ‘role' would be most suitable for them. A series of interviews that are conducted by the students Human Resource Director, Link Teacher and Business Advisor are held. This allows students to develop an understanding of the personal skills required for each job role as well as develop their interview technique. The roles that are available within the company are Managing Director, Secretary, Finance Director, Sales Director, Marketing Director, Operations Director, and ICT Director. Students may also create additional roles depending upon the direction that they wish their business to take and the focus of their main product.
What do students gain from being part of Young Enterprise?
This Scheme is suitable for all young people to be part of and is an opportunity to nurture and realise their entrepreneurial potential as well as developing general business understanding. The Scheme allows students to develop a wide range of different skills, ranging from teamwork to communication. A ‘can do' attitude is encouraged to support the student's development.
Students often choose to support charities with the profit that they have made throughout the academic year. Recent beneficiaries include Marie Curie in Penarth and an Orphanage in India where a child has been sponsored for a year.
Innovation Awards
Towards the end of the year the teams take part in a local competition with other participating schools within ‘Cardiff and the Vale' area. There are a range of different awards available for the teams to achieve at the event, including awards voted by the students attending the event. The team which is overall successful will then proceed to the regional finals. 12 regional winning companies from across the UK are then selected to compete in the prestigious HSBC Young Enterprise Innovation Awards UK Final.
How does Young Enterprise link with the curriculum?
www.young-enterprise.org.uk/res/resources/Company_Programme_Secondary_Mapping_08-09.pdf
Recent Events
2008 - 2009
• The Year 12 team was called ‘Us'. The Managing Director was Thomas Evans.
• The Year 10 team was called ‘Infinite'. The Managing Directors were Andrew Graham and Rosie Troth.
• Initially there was one Managing Director for the company; this was later changed to two Managing Directors due to student interest and skills.
• ‘Open Day' saw a range of different products and games co-ordinated by students in both teams, including a ‘Treasure Hunt', Tombola (supported by donations from local businesses), and many other games. It was also an opportunity for the students to gain important market research for their main product ideas.
The Year 12 team ‘Infinite' and their link teacher
• Both teams took part in the Christmas Trade Fair held at IKEA in Cardiff Bay.
• The Year 12 team took part in a range of Christmas Trade Fairs hosted by local Primary Schools. The teams also responded well to seasonal events such as Valentine's Day and Easter.
• The main product developed by the Year 12 team was a walking talking guide to Cardiff and Cardiff Bay. This was initially created in a downloadable document available from the website that they had created. A future planned development of the product was in MP3 format, so that customers could download it and listen to the guide as they walk through the local area.
• There were a range of products that were developed by the Year 10 team as they chose to follow an ‘Environmental' theme will all the products that they created e.g. Aloe Vera plants.
• Year 12 students chose to donate their profits to the sdfdsfdsfs orphanage in India (where they have sponsored a child for a year) and support other Sixth Form Students involved in the Lesotho project
• At the ‘Innovation Awards' the Year 10 team won ‘Best Business Plan 2009', ‘Environmental Award 2009'; the Year 12 team won ‘Best presentation 2009' and Thomas Evans won the ‘Chairman's Award' recognised for being a budding entrepreneur
Thomas Evans winning the ‘Chairman's Award'
The Year 12 team with their link teacher at the Finals event
The Year 10 team at the Final Event
2009 -2010
• Two teams have been established in Year 10: ‘Risk' and ‘Synergy'. The Managing Directors of ‘Synergy' are Jacob Freeman and James Eades. The Managing Director of ‘Risk' is Josh Morgan-Kane.
Year 10 Teams
• ‘Open Day' is an event that is held at Stanwell every year for parents and prospective students to get an idea of what life in Stanwell, is like. ‘Open Day' was a great success for the Year 10 teams as they set up a range of different games and products for Year 6 prospective students to the school to get involved with. This included the students making cards (using the work of a local artist), bracelets and creating a range of different interactive games. This allowed the students to raise capital to register their teams and fund their future entrepreneurial ideas
Year 10 preparation for Open Day
Open Day in the Business Centre
• Two teams have been established in Year 12.
• Both of the Year 12 teams located their stand in the ‘Dining Hall Extension' with other Year 12 students that were completing an Enterprise Activity as part of their Welsh Baccalaureate. This created a competitive atmosphere but attracted a lot of potential customers to see the student's products.
• All of the teams attended the ‘Christmas Trade Fair' that was held at IKEA in Cardiff Bay. The students had to design and create a trade stand to display their products to their potential customers. Students also had to write and submit their business plans for assessment. This required great organisation and teamwork to get everything completed for the time deadline. Students worked exceptionally well together and were a credit to the school. One team ‘Cheeky Seagull' won the ‘Best Stand' Award at the event.
Year 10 - ‘Synergy' at IKEA Trade Fair
Year 10 - ‘Risk' at IKEA Trade Fair
Year 12 - *********** at IKEA Trade Fair
Year 12 - ‘The Cheeky Seagull' at IKEA Trade Fair
• Two of last year's Sixth Formers involved in the Scheme last year and in Year 10 have been registered as ‘Business Advisors'. Keirian Russell and Thomas Evans
