Avonbourne School
A Business & Enterprise College
WINNERS! Make Your Mark
Ten pound challenge
TOP TENNER TRIUMPH FOR INTERNET RANGERS
Avonbourne School students make their mark with winning business idea
14 May 2010 – Pupils from Avonbourne School in Bournemouth have impressed some of the UK’s leading business brains to be crowned winners of Make Your Mark with a Tenner 2010. Ellie, Beth, Simona and Lauren beat off strong competition to claim their prize of a visit to their school from a successful entrepreneur as well as £100, to encourage them to take their business ideas further.
The competition, run by Enterprise UK, gives participants £10 and one month to turn their creative and enterprising ideas into businesses that make money and make a difference. The students from Avonbourne School in Bournemouth, won the Best Business category of the Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition, with Internet Rangers which made £35 through internet training for elderly people in the local community.
A group of four students aged 12-13 started their own social enterprise called Internet Rangers which teaches older people to use the internet. Internet Rangers was launched before this year’s competition began. However the kids have used their tenners as a catalyst to grow the business. They’ve been praised by the Government for their work and have secured local IT companies to back the project. Their teacher, Kathryn Loughnan, says that she’s never seen a group of students so committed to bringing about social change, saying : “I’m so proud of what Ellie ,Beth, Simona and Lauren have achieved in this competition. These students have proven themselves more than equal to the challenge of turning ten pounds into something special, and have shown us all what they can achieve through enterprise when trusted with the resources to make their ideas happen”.
Despite the fact that the business is yet to make a profit the judges were impressed by the business model which they believed could be rolled out in schools throughout the UK. The scheme is expected to go from strength to strength and the kids have already arranged for future courses to run every Tuesday throughout the summer
Julie Harris, CEO of South West based Social Enterprise COSMIC, Social Enterprise Ambassador and Ambassador for Enterprise UK, said: “The South West’s young people have the skills and talents needed to make money and improve the lives of others. All they needed was someone to believe in them and a ten pound note. When COSMIC began it was founded on strong belief some initial investment and lots of passion to make a difference to people’s lives. If young people are using the Make your Mark campaign in this way then the future really does look bright for social enterprise. This spirit of doing ‘good business’ bodes well for the UK’s economy in the future.”
This year funding from the Big Lottery Fund enabled thousands more students to get involved, with around 28,000 students taking part. Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for the South West, commented: “Make Your Mark with a Tenner has proven the value of a £10 note. It might not sound a lot but to the students, who are given the chance to do something with it, it’s very empowering and I hope they go on to bigger and better things.”
Winners were selected nationally from three categories: under 11s, 11-14 year olds and 14-19 year olds – with winners selected for the best business idea, the most profit generated, the best social impact, and a number of special judge’s awards. The top profit made from £10 was an impressive £920, by two students who recycled old and unwanted mobile phones online.
Make Your Mark with a Tenner was co-founded by serial entrepreneur Oli Barrett and Enterprise UK, which runs Make Your Mark. Financial backers include;
- The Big Lottery Fund, giving a grant of £250,000 in 2010
- Entrepreneur and Chairman of Enterprise UK, Peter Jones
- The founders of Bebo - Michael and Xochi Birch
- Andrew Reynolds, entrepreneur and original funder of Make Your Mark with a Tenner
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