A team of budding young entrepreneurs from Westborough High School are going head-to-head with students across the country this month, as Peter Jones CBE announced the official start of trading for his nationwide enterprise competition, Tycoon in Schools.
The Year 11 students from the Dewsbury School officially launched their business idea – Lease 2 Learn – on Monday 7th November, providing students, teachers and the community the opportunity to lease equipment and space at a very competitive price.
The budding young business stars have received £236 funding from Peter Jones CBE to kick-start their business, as part of his aim to give young entrepreneurs experience of starting and running a small business.
The team will compete in the race to be crowned winner of Tycoon in Schools 2016, going up against over two hundred thousand high-calibre students from schools and colleges spanning the length and breadth of the UK, from schools in Argyll in Scotland to Saint Saviour in Jersey.
Famed businessman and Dragons Den star, Peter Jones, is the man behind the competition and met students from the West Yorkshire school last year.
On hearing about Lease 2 Learn’s entry into the 2016 contest, he said: “I am thrilled that Westborough High in Dewsbury is taking part this year’s Tycoon in Schools competition which is providing schoolchildren across the country with their first taste of enterprise.
“This year the competition is bigger and better than ever as we have expanded to include Primary Schools for the first time.
“I am very excited to see the innovative and creative business ideas come to fruition and wish all students participating from Westborough the very best of luck. Watch this space – we could have the next global business tycoon in the making.”
The quirky business ideas from across primary and secondary school teams range from upcycling businesses to the provision of film nights and e-sports tournaments.
This is the second time students from Westborough High School have entered the competition, with previous entries including Ethical Print who were crowned Tycoon in School Champions 2014/15.
Lukman Patel, Head of Business and Ethics at Westborough said: “We are incredibly proud of the entrepreneurial spirit shown by our students in coming up with their business idea for the Tycoon in Schools competition.
“Inspiring and educating children about business from an early age is really important. Working with a well-known entrepreneur like Peter Jones is a brilliant way to engage young people in business.”
