Member Article

Dragons Den style school proves a hit with youngsters

A week-long summer school which follows hot on the heels of reality TV favourite Dragons Den has proved a hit with its pupils. Children aged 14 and 15 from schools across Durham and Tees Valley have been taking part in a full programme of activities including motivational presentations, coaching, role-plays and an enterprise challenge. The youngsters also worked in small groups to set up and run their own ‘dummy’ company, finishing the week with a ‘Dragon’s Den’ style presentation of their business ideas to a group of judges.

The free Summer School, organised by Young Enterprise North East (YENE), also featured day visits to local organisations including Middlesbrough Football Club, Walkers Crisps and financial software experts Sage. The day-long visit to Sage focussed on business planning where the young people were encouraged to look at the various stages involved in setting up and managing a business. A spokesperson from Sage said: “We have a low rate of business start-ups here in the region so programmes such as Young Enterprise, which is all about encouraging youngsters and equipping them with the skills and understanding to consider setting up their own enterprise early in life, have our full backing.”

On the visit to Middlesbrough FC’s Riverside stadium, the youngsters found themselves interviewing management, after which their entrepreneurial skills were fully tested in the Chairman’s Challenge – a role-playing activity which gave them the chance to become football club directors. Snack manufacturer Walkers Crisps provided a flavour of the food processing industry with a full factory tour, followed by workshops and question and answer sessions run by a series of different departments.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .