As part of the first phase of the competition, over 250 schools up and down the country registered for this year’s competition, giving thousands of children the chance to take part in Tycoon in Schools and get their first taste of starting a business. Over 3,000 students took part in the initial phase of the competition, and of those, 700 high-calibre students have been selected by Jones to receive funding and kick-start their business ideas.
Underpinned by Jones’ mission to put enterprise at the heart of the education system, the competition is backed by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills, as part of its wider goal to invigorate entrepreneurialism across the country.
The assortment of innovative student business ideas include an eco-friendly enterprise that repurposes recycled cooking oil as fuel to run college minibuses, wind powered mechanical toys created with the latest CAD/CAM and 3D technologies and tasty soups with ingredients sourced from the finest local Devon products.
Schools involved span the length and breadth of England, including a team of sixteen year olds from Felpham Community College who are providing First Aid training courses for all age groups in the local community and a team of eleven yearolds from Heron Hall Academy in London who are selling wristbands in their house colours.
Students have received a comprehensive Tycoon in Schools pack, which includes calculators, lapel badges and personalisedbusiness cards, putting them on track for entrepreneurial success.
A live league table is hosted on[ilink url=”http://www.tycooninschools.com”]tycooninschools.com[/ilink] where teams can update their sales figures throughout the fast-paced enterprise competition.
As well as the online league table, teams each have their own profile on[ilink url=”http://www.tycooninschools.com”]tycooninschools.com[/ilink] where they can upload photos, post YouTube videos and share all the latest news on their business.
Run by the Peter Jones Foundation, the competition is open to all secondary school children in England between the ages of 11 and 18. It challenges students to develop the skills and knowledge required to set up their own business and make as muchmoney as possible in one month of trading.
The overall winner of Tycoon in Schools 2013 and the winners of the special awards for Community Engagement, Achievement, Sustainability and Business Concept will be announced in January 2014.
Eleanor Bullough, 14, from Da Vinci School in Stevenage was crowned winner of Tycoon in Schools 2012 for her business Boo’s Bits & Bobs. Eleanor was awarded £1,000 at a special ceremony at Buckingham Palace to invest in her eco-friendlyshop, which sells colourful paper garlands made from handmade, renewable mulberry paper.
Peter Jones commented: “Following the storming success of the inaugural Tycoon in Schools competition, I am thrilled to see that this year’s challenge is bringing out some of the best and most innovative business ideas in school children across the country.
“Tycoon in Schools’ mission is to put enterprise at the very heart of every young person’s education. The enthusiasm of this year’s participants demonstrates that entrepreneurship is really beginning to be celebrated amongst our future work force.
“I have been incredibly impressed by the business plans submitted by each team and I wish them all the very best of luck during their month of trading and beyond. I can’t wait to see all of the ideas in action!”
