CARDINAL Newman High School in Bellshill, has won a slice of UK Steel Enterprise’s 40th anniversary prize fund by impressing judges with their project to engage students in entrepreneurship, as they also celebrate 40 years.
UK Steel Enterprise (UKSE) awarded the school £6,000 for its ‘Cardinal Newman Enterprise Company’ project which aims to enhance their pupils’ opportunities to understand and participate in various enterprise initiatives.
The funding will resource and establish a number of student run businesses. Teachers and senior students from the school will be a part of a ‘Dragon’s Den’-style judging panel and pupils from S1 to S6, attending enterprise clubs and classes, will be eligible to pitch for funding to start their business idea.
The pupils will have to produce a solid business plan and will be assessed on profitability, manageability and risk.
If successful with their bid, students will run their business and will pay back the funding with the profit, making the capital cash investment pot sustainable for years to come.
The practical experience of running a business teaches the students about teamwork, negotiation, marketing and quick–thinking, while adding an impressive addition to their CVs.
Successful businesses set up by students previously include a ‘Naked Popcorn’ company where students sold the healthy snack twice a week at the school and a pen with a pull-out banner to present the school timetable, designed and commissioned by the students.
Charles Conaghan, enterprise teacher at Cardinal Newman High School, said: “We have been running the enterprise project with the S6 students for almost ten years, but this funding allows us to branch out so the whole school can get involved.
“Without this funding, we wouldn’t be able to start 90% of the business ideas the students present us. Having the money specifically for the project allows the school to provide the start-up capital for some of the bigger ideas, take more risk and redeem higher rewards, making the process as close to real-life as possible.”
To win, Cardinal Newman had to submit their application for UKSE’s 40:40 Challenge and pitch their project as something that would help shape entrepreneurs of the future.
Anne Clyde, regional manager at UKSE, said: “Since 1975, UK Steel Enterprise has helped thousands of entrepreneurs to set up and grow their businesses, creating more than 75,000 jobs. This project completely resonated with us as it echoes UKSE’s mission.
“The project is a fantastic initiative for the whole school, which introduces all students to the world of enterprise and entrepreneurship and we look forward to seeing what business concepts the students come up with.”
During 2015, UKSE is celebrating 40 years of support to steel communities across the United Kingdom. To celebrate this milestone, the regeneration arm of Tata Steel is running a competition to discover the entrepreneurs who will continue this success for the next 40 years.
UKSE’s 40:40 Challenge fund has been open since January and applications remain open until 31 December 2015 for the remaining prize money still to be won. To apply, organisations need to email HO@uksteelenterprise.co.uk, providing the name of the organisation, contact details and up to 1,000 words describing the proposed project.
More information is available from UK Steel Enterprise Scottish office on 01698 845045.
ENDS
Issued by The BIG Partnership on behalf of UK Steel Enterprise
Notes to editors:
UK Steel Enterprise, formerly British Steel (Industry) Ltd, was originally established in 1975 by the then British Steel Corporation and is a subsidiary of Tata Steel.
This year, UKSE is celebrating 40 years of supporting economic regeneration and the development of areas in the UK which have been affected by changes in the steel industry.
For more information, please contact:
Bethan Mackenzie, The BIG Partnership, 0141 333 9585
bethan.mackenzie@bigpartnership.co.uk
MEDIA RELEASE issued by The BIG Partnership. You too can post media releases (aka press releases) on allmediascotland.com. Email here for more information.
Check out twitter.com/nonstopstories for your very own media releases feed…
Check out too twitter.com/allEducationPR.
To catch up on all the media releases recently posted on to allmediascotland.com, you need only click the link icon that you see towards the bottom right of our two media release ‘gateway boxes’.
It’s this icon, here. It’s your route straight into the rich archive.
—
The BIG Partnership contact details…
Contact: Ashleigh Copeland
Phone: 0141 333 9585
Email: ashleigh.copeland@bigpartnership.co.uk
