This term, we were hugely excited to launch the Young Enterprise Project for the current Year 6 cohort! This project has been running for over ten years and is a great success in raising funds for local charities. This initiative has always been popular with the boys and, for this term, we expanded the scheme to work across the curriculum. Inspired by the TV shows ‘The Apprentice’ and ‘Dragons’ Den’, Year 6 boys were challenged to extend their learning in Maths, Study Skills, ICT, Media and Drama in an new and exciting format.
Enjoy the story of the Year 6 Enterprise Project 2024.
New Beginnings
At the beginning of the process, 44 boys were split into 8 groups and sent away to brainstorm new business ideas and work collaboratively on creating a brand new company. However, every good business not only needs a great supportive team, but also a focal point – a person in charge – so Leadership was the key focus in the first brainstorm as each team required a Project Manager to guide them successfully through the process. After rigorous interviews and tough decisions, 8 Project Managers were appointed and their first job was to allocate other positions of responsibility in their teams including Budget and Finance Manager, Researcher, Product Developer, IT Support and Marketing.
Once the roles had been assigned in each group, the foundations of each company were developed across the school curriculum and we had 8 brand new Enterprise teams for 2024: Pop-It, Be Happy, Vortex, Nitro, Mimi, Apollo, Toy World and Elite. Each pupil was allocated a £10 start-up cost for product development and the task over the coming weeks was to create an identity for their company and develop innovative products to market to the school during the Summer Term.
The Launch of the Companies
With the brands created, budgeting documents processed, orders submitted and products ready to go, the boys could not wait to launch their brand new companies to their West House peers. Thursday and Friday breaktimes became ‘Enterprise Days’ as all 8 teams designed stalls to promote their business and experience the art of making sales. We had a range of products including West House personalised tote bags, quirky stationary and friendship bracelets created by hand! Each week, the total sales were calculated and the boys would submit further orders based on their profit and loss that week. Amongst the excitement and fun, the boys were yet to face their biggest challenge of the process and after three weeks of selling, the moment had come for all 44 candidates to enter the West House Dragons’ Den…
The West House Dragons' Den
Inspired by the TV show ‘Dragons’ Den’, the next step of the process saw all 8 teams of aspiring entrepreneurs put in front of a brand new lineup of ‘West House Dragons’ where they had the opportunity to pitch for further investment in their companies. Mr Lyttle, Mrs Robinson and Ms Jones-Owen were the Dragons with the cash as they questioned each team on their business ideas, finances, and proposed orders including the introduction of food and drink to accompany their existing products. This helped develop further confidence and techniques for the boys when presenting to an audience and having an unforgettable experience of ‘Dragons’ Den’!
The team of Dragons conferred and invested the following additional funds:
- £40 – Apollo, Vortex, Be Happy and Nitro
- £45 – Pop-It and Mimis
- £50 – Toy World and Elite
Welcome Parents!
To celebrate all the hard work from the boys throughout the process, we invited Year 6 parents to meet all the teams and have the chance to make purchases of products, food and drink. Each team included games to help promote their brands and impressive customer services were delivered by all the groups (perhaps as the parents were now the customers!). A great atmosphere in glorious sunshine was enjoyed by all and after the final Friday of Enterprise, there was a nervous wait as the totals had to be added up and a final winner announced!
A Memorable Pilot Project
In the final assembly of term, the results of the project were announced. An incredible total of £2,210 was raised by all the teams which was the highest amount in a single Enterprise Project to date! The money was shared between 7 charities chosen by the boys in relation to their company identity; The Children’s Book Project, The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, The Eden Project, Kings Heath Cat Club, Acorns, Pens for Kids and Young Minds.
Well done to Toy World who raised the most money with total sales of £603.24, product costs of £140.21 and a total profit of £463.03, winning the Young Enterprise Project 2024. Eesa, Project Manager, and his team created a fantastic brand demonstrating brilliant collaborative skills and showed the importance of working as a team in launching a new company!
We are thrilled with how successful this pilot scheme has been and we cannot wait for the next cohort of Year 6 to tackle the project for 2025 which we hope will be even better!
A final thank you goes to Ms Green assisted by Mr Lyttle Jnr for organising an extremely enjoyable and meaningful learning experience. Enjoy this video made by Theo who was part of Team Apollo and welcome to the world of business, Year 6!