Dewsbury pupils showcase their entrepreneurial skills
A young team of entrepreneurs from Dewsbury have been showing they don’t need a boardroom to launch a successful business with their company ‘Ethical Print’ setting up in their school’s classroom.
Seven students from Westborough High School are taking part in the ‘Tycoon in Schools’ project – a national enterprise competition for young aspiring business people across the country.
Developed by former Dragon’s Den star, Peter Jones CBE, the local academics set up their business in the hope of raising money for five charities and promoting community events through a newsletter.
With funding being received from local businesses, which pay the team for advertising space, Ethical print has proven to be extremely successful, raising around £2,300 from just a £330 start-up loan.
Initially setting a target of 30 businesses, the team have just passed 45 and have greater ambitions as they push on, with a website and mobile app in the pipeline for future developments.
As part of the national competition, in which almost 200 schools and colleges are competing in, the Westborough representatives are in fourth position with a profit ratio of 597 per cent.
Year 10 pupil, Muhammad Yunus, said the group were working well together and he was immediately interested in joining the project when he first heard about it.
“Last year, Mr Patel told us about the Tycoon in Schools programme and I knew I wanted to take part in it straight away,” he said.
“I really like business and so far we have all been developing our enterprise skills which have helped our business succeed so much so far.”
Teammate, Lohash Lubsir-Latif, added: “This project gives us the chance to get involved with real business and real money.
“It is fun but we must make sure that we are always doing the best we can because we are also representing the school in the competition.”
Money raised by Ethical print will be allocated equally to the RSPCA, Salvation Army, Age Concern, Macmillan Cancer Research and Water Aid.
Lukman Patel the Head of Business & Ethics at Westborough said the team’s work-rate had been ‘brilliant’ since the start of the project and they deserved all the plaudits they were receiving.
“For the Year 10 Business group to get to the final stages of this prestigious competition is a testimony of the outstanding teaching in the Business faculty and the continued enthusiasm shown by all our students,” he said.”
