Young Enterprise success at Holmleigh Park

Students at Holmleigh Park High School have been running their own business as part of the Young Enterprise company programme. They were competing against other schools as part of a national competition where they gain practical business experience, enterprising mindset and employability skills needed to help them build successful futures.

The Holmleigh Park team is called Chaldeans Designs and is focused on making handmade copper rings. The name Chaldens Designs is based upon the Chaldean people of Mesopotamia, who were one of the first people to make copper jewellery.

The students decided the structure of their company, allocated director roles, and set up their bank account. They conducted market research, developed a business plan, and raised capital to start the business. They started to sell their products within school as well as at selling events such as at the Brunel centre in Swindon. The practical learning has been embedded into the school's Extended Diploma in Business, so the students can put into action what they learn in the classroom.

Gloucestershire and Wiltshire finals

The students were able to showcase their skills at the local finals. This involved preparing a report, an interview with judges and delivering a presentation about their business. The Holmleigh Park team was very successful, winning the 'best company report' and 'best team'. This meant they reached the Southwest finals.

Radio

The team were featured on BBC Radio Gloucestershire with a live interview with Steve Kitchen, where they shared the progress they had made and discussed their business idea.

Listen to the clip here.

The Southwest finals

The Southwest finals were held in Bristol at the headquarters of St James’s Place Wealth Management, a top 100 company. The Holmleigh Park team performed well, winning the resilience award, but sadly did not make it to the national finals. They did meet Alison Edgar MBE who was one of the judges.

John Kavanagh, Head of Business Studies and BTEC Quality Nominee, Holmleigh Park High School