Enterprising Hurst students create the 'best company' and win many other awards

Young Enterprise Companies - created by students from leading schools throughout Mid-Sussex - displayed their products and plans at Chequer Mead Community Arts Centre in East Grinstead last week.

A team of judges - drawn from leading local businesses - inspected the students' stands and listened to presentations in which each student group provided a summary of the challenges they experienced and the lessons they learned as they faced the Young Enterprise challenge. Each student company has to go through a complete business cycle between the start of the academic year and the following March. This involves creating a company, providing appropriate funding, identifying and researching potential products and the potential markets for them, producing or sourcing the products themselves and then, pricing and marketing and selling to both school friends and the public at large. This is a considerable challenge for students many of whom are, at the same time, working towards their AS level exams in the Summer.

‘The standards achieved by Young Enterprise companies in Sussex is always exceptionally high’ commented Hurstpierpoint College’s headmaster, Tim Manly ‘and I have been enormously impressed by the quality of the commercial operations created by youngsters from all the competing schools".

This year, the Hurstpierpoint College team again did exceptionally well creating a range of popular products: sweet-filled Christmas cones and Easter goody bags, and, for their final project, a prototype children's gardening belt and accompanying vegetable recipe book. At the Mid-Sussex final on Wednesday evening they swept the board. winning the minor trophies for best Website and best Health & Safety report; Young Achiever (Sophie Clifford); and then went on to the larger prizes of Best Trade Stand, Best Presentation and overall Best Company in Mid-Sussex.

Examination timetables allowing, the team will move on to the Sussex Final in a few weeks.

Members of the Hurst 2010 Young Enterprise team are:
Katie Shi, Phil Dugard, Anna Turzynski, Seb Dzwisich, Shirley Yau, Mufaddal Najefy, Victoria Nolten, Matt Hunter, Sarah Cusition, Sophie Clifford, Josie Griffiths, Josh Hammond, Max White, Charlie Allen and Matt Austin

Note:
Young Enterprise is a national education charity founded in 1963 to forge links between schools and industry. Its mission is to inspire and equip young people to learn and succeed through enterprise. The Company Programme enables young people to gain experience in running a real company under the guidance of volunteer advisers.

 

 

 

 

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