Budding entrepreneurs at Newland House School win National Young Enterprise competition and raise £500 for local charities.
A group of Year 2 pupils at Newland House joined 24,000 children across the UK to take part in The Fiver Challenge, a national initiative set up by the enterprise and financial education charity, Young Enterprise. The social enterprises the pupils established led them to great success in the competition and all profits were donated to local charities.
The Fiver Challenge is one of the key enterprise programmes followed by Newland House pupils as part of the innovative, Entrepreneur Club. Over four weeks the children must research, plan, and run their own business starting with a £5 pledge. The £5 is repaid from the money they raise at their sales event on the final day, and all profits are donated to a charity of their choice. The challenge offers an excellent introduction to enterprise and the world of work.
Chris Skelton, Head of Newland House, is delighted with the continued success of the entrepreneurial programme that the school offers. He stated “it is fantastic that our dedicated pupils have done so well in the Fiver Challenge for the second year in a row. They absolutely love Entrepreneur Club as do our older pupils with the Money Matters club that we run. These clubs dovetail perfectly with the school’s commitment to not only provide all our pupils with outstanding academic teaching but also with a wide-reaching education.”
Sandra Skelton, Entrepreneur club leader at Newland House School commented, “The Fiver Challenge encourages and nurtures the confidence and ambitions of our young people, helping to build the foundations of a growth mindset that will last a lifetime. I’m delighted at the success the three teams of children from Newland House achieved in the national competition and it is inspiring to see them emerge more resilient, confident and curious, knowing that through the social enterprises they create, they can make a huge difference to the world.”
The Tiny Time Team were this year’s winners in the category of ‘Best Overall Business’. They focused on their love of Maths and created a card game aimed at helping children learn how to tell the time, with all profit made going to Save the Children. They were also awarded a well-deserved place in the top twenty for the Best Sales Pitch.
Super Soapy Hope were amongst this year’s finalists in the category of ‘Fiver for Good’. This recognises the incredible work that the team did to support homeless people in our local community, helping to provide dignity to those less fortunate than themselves. The children made homemade bags which were filled with homemade soap and other personal care items. Customers were asked to make a suggested £10 pledge per bag, and both the product and the profit made were donated to The Vineyard Community.
David Logan, CEO Vineyard Community & Richmond Foodbank said, “We are so grateful to the fantastic Year 2 children of Newland House School for the compassionate entrepreneurship they’ve demonstrated and the difference they’ve made through their Super Soapy Hope business. Both the Newland House School products and profits they’ve made will create change in the lives of those we work with who are experiencing debilitating crisis within our borough. A huge thank you from all of us here at Vineyard Community & Richmond Foodbank!”
Recognising the difficulty in recycling shoes, Champion Footprints upcycled good-quality shoes that would otherwise have been thrown into landfill, giving them new life and avoiding the 30-40 years it can take for just one pair of shoes to decompose. They earned a well-deserved place as runner-up in the ‘Best in Sustainability’ category as well as a place in the top ten for the ‘Best Logo Design’ from a remarkable 254 entries across the country. All profits raised from their upcycled shoes will be donated to ShoeAid in Kingston.
The children's efforts and achievements did not go unnoticed in the business world, catching the eye of one of Lord Alan Sugar's most trusted aides, Mike Soutar. A regular on The Apprentice since 2011, Mike will be reviewing and providing feedback on the teams' business journals. Mike said, "I was delighted to be asked to help review the business pitches from Newland House School and Kings House School for the Fiver Challenge 2023. It was amazing to see the ingenuity of the ideas and the clarity of thought behind all the business concepts the students had created. With this generation of young entrepreneurial people coming through, the country is in safe hands!"