YOUNG business brains from six schools in Worcester, Malvern and Wychavon battled it out in a competition designed to test their entrepreneurial skills.
The Young Enterprise Spring Trade Fair saw twelve teams of sixth form students selling products which they had created to passers-by on Worcester’s High Street.
In advance participating teams set up a limited company, allocated roles and responsibilities within their business and sold shares to friends and family. Teams then developed a prototype product which they market- tested before selling the final creation at the fair.
The panel of judges comprised Ian Smith, Portfolio Risk Officer at HSBC; Dionne Oliver, Innovation Senior Consultant at QinetiQ and Ray Gillespie from Worcester Web Studios, who assessed the team’s use of digital technology.
Team Athena from Worcester Sixth Form College scooped the best product prize for their soft toy which helps children to express their feelings and reduces stress/can boost mental health.
The honour of best display was given to Team Puzzle from Malvern St. James Girls School for the use of hand-written signs to create a really strong display which the judges thought looked professional.
Students who made up Team Logic MigTea from Kings School Worcester walked away with the best brand image honour for the development of a very strong brand reflected across their stand, website, business cards and packaging.
Judges unanimously agreed students from Team Athena were the overall winners for their product, brand image and display and had used digital technology well to research and promote their business.
“I’ve attended the Spring Fair for 20 successive years and the ingenuity, creativity and hard work of the students never fails to disappoint,” said Paul Moult, chair of Youth Enterprise South Worcestershire.
Mayor of Worcester, Coun Jabba Riaz, presented awards to the winners and said: “As a previous Young Enterprise participant myself, I can vouch for the important role this programme plays in developing young people’s self-confidence. They start to believe that they have the skills to run a business – and that it isn’t just something which other people do.
“The quality of this year’s entries was extremely good, but the winners clearly stood out because the thought, effort and knowledge behind their product was exceptional.”
Visit www.young-enterprise.org.uk for more.
