Young Enterprise
King Edward VI School, Lichfield has a proud record in participating in the Young Enterprise Company Programme. The programme is designed for young people to develop key life and employability skills, by setting up and running their own company, with guidance from a business advisor and teacher.
Students compete against other teams from The Greater Birmingham and Solihull area, with the winners going to a West Midlands final and then a UK final.
To be successful, applicants need to demonstrate strong commitment both inside and outside of school including: teamwork, presentation skills, time management and communication skills. The programme is designed to improve these skills as well as helping students to gain confidence.
The Young Enterprise programme is suitable for anyone as a wide range of skill sets are required, as they are in the world of business. Though Business, Economics and Accounting are especially relevant subjects.
Those completing the Young Enterprise programme have found the experience invaluable and have gained university sponsored degree courses and internships as a result of taking part.
Overall, there will be ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ throughout the process but without doubt it is fun and hopefully students can even make a profit that they keep!
Unrivalled success over the years:
2024 - Growing green
At the Birmingham Area Awards the team won the Sustainability Award as well as the Overall Company of the Year Award. At the West Midlands Awards, they won The Best Financially Managed Company, as well as winning the Runners Up Award!
The Young Enterprise team, with their company Growing Green achieved success at the area Showcase final in April 2024 as well as the West Midlands final in May 2024.
Their product - a growing kit, initially growing sunflowers is designed to build emotional bonding, predominantly between grandparent(s) and grandchildren whilst getting children out in the fresh air.
What is grown becomes the topic of conversation on a regular (weekly/fortnightly) basis as they compete to see who can grow the tallest flower. Each need to record/log the growth (equipment provided) and then compare how their flower is growing. This can be discussed when they visit each other directly, or through social media bringing them together remotely. The chat over WhatsApp or through an Alexa show, for instance, then acts as the catalyst for further conversations enhancing wellbeing especially so, where there may be a lone, single grandparent.
2023 - AmourEco
Greater Birmingham and Solihull area winner, Sustainability Awards winner (GB&S area), Runners Up in the West Midland Regional Final
Upcycling unloved teddy bears
People donate their old teddy bears and we will give them identities and let children adopt our 'good as new' bears, with whom they can make great memories and have exciting, new adventures using our unique e-book.
2022 - Viz bag
Their dog coats won their local final and came runners up in the West Midlands final, winning the Creativity Award in style.
Part of their process included the production of a promotional video click below to view.
2020 - EnviroTent
The UK winners went on to represent the UK in the virtual European final in Portugal!
EnviroTent has created an innovative, sustainable product that is the only cardboard tent in the UK.
Had it not been for COVID, the team would have been flown out to Portugal for the four-day European final!
We still had success here with Managing Director Tayla Evans (fifth from the left) winning the European MD award. As a school we are proud of our entrepreneurs and how they have migrated into the world of business. Tayla has gone onto creating a business on the back of her success in Young Enterprise and we wish her all the best for a bright future.
2016 - Key Safety - at risk disk
Third in the UK National Young Enterprise finals with their product the “At risk disk”, having won their local and West Midlands finals on the way.
The team were even interviewed on BBC Breakfast by Steph McGovern as part of their UK Final.
This product went onto being available nationwide in Halford stores.
Their success led to an invite to Number 11 Downing Street no less, to present about their Young Enterprise experience.
