Wisewood Students Make Their Mark in National Competition!
A team of young entrepreneurs from Wisewood School have come second in the largest enterprise competition in the UK for 14-16 year olds, the Make Your Mark Challenge.
The group of five students narrowly missed out on the top prize, after battling it out against 11 other teams from around the country at the National Finals in London last week. Over 73,000 students took part in the competition nationwide which was launched by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November.
During the action-packed day, held at King’s Place, London, Rachel Riley gave a welcome address before teams got the chance to pitch to a top panel of judges, including Heather Stewart, Economics Editor at the Observer, Philip Goodwin from the British Council and Richard Gillies, Director of Plan A and Sustainable Business at Marks & Spencer.
The team from Wisewood School impressed the judges with their idea H2 Power, a water turbine that is attached to a drainpipe so that when it rains, or when waste water runs through the drain pipe, it generates electricity that charges a portable battery.
The brief for this year’s challenge was “Let local inspiration lead you to a ‘cool’ creation” and students were given just 24 hours to come up with a profitable and innovative business idea whilst considering the environmental impact of their creation. Rachel Riley commented,
“The Make Your Mark Challenge is a fantastic way to get young people interested and excited in business and becoming entrepreneurs. This year all entrants considered the environmental impact of their entries, ensuring they are prepared for another of the challenges that will become ever more important to business.”
The Wisewood team was presented with a cheque for £600 to spend on developing the business. Speaking at the final, Alison Foulkes, Enterprise Coordinator at Wisewood School said,
“There was a very high standard of ideas presented at this year’s final, giving us great hope for entrepreneurs of the future. The UK final proved to be a really tough contest and we are very proud that our students have brought the 2nd prize back to Sheffield!”
