Enterprising young students had a profitable day taking their projects out into the commercial world – and were awarded a top prize into the bargain!

All Remove (Year 10) Design and Technology students have spent the term hard at work setting up and running their own businesses, as part of the Young Enterprise scheme. Teams each had to produce a business plan for their venture and then had to design and construct an appropriate trade stand to sell their products.

Two teams spent Saturday at The Market Place Shopping Centre in Burgess Hill where they had the opportunity to sell their products to the general public.

Both teams were most successful and achieved combined sales figures on the day in excess of four hundred pounds!

The ‘Pashmina’ trade stand run by the ‘Neckline’ team certainly caught the eye of the public and a special mention was made by the competition judges for their efforts. Such was the success of their sales tactic, that the company took £326 in sales revenue on the day, with students Josh Spyman and Jack Cowan making a significant contribution to the day’s sales performance. However, special mention should also go to Rachel Bartlett, whose determination and hard work really paid off when she manned the stall alone during the afternoon and made the highest individual sales figures.

The second team ‘Grafix’ who sold rebranded ‘environmentally friendly’ jute bags, also performed exceptionally well. Sales were brisk and the team had to undergo rigorous questioning from the judges. Nicola Groves, Josh Gorman and Rosie Gibbens came through the ordeal with flying colours and were judged as best overall company. They were rewarded for their efforts with a cheque for £50.00 and a trophy. Mark Harrison, Head of Design Technology said: “The teams worked exceptionally hard on their projects and the achievement on the day was all the more remarkable when you consider that many of the teams they were competing against were made up of sixth form students, including rivals from both Worth School and Hurstpierpoint College.”

Prizes were presented to the winning team by Chris Goldfinch, manager of the Market Place shopping centre, and Mrs Margaret Hersey, chairman of Mid-Sussex District Council.