Young enterprise pays off for students (From Stroud News and Journal)

Young enterprise pays off for students

TWENTY FIVE very special companies were formed in Gloucestershire last year and by the end of the year they will have been wound up, despite the fact that they have all been highly successful and made money.

What makes these companies special is that they have been established under the Young Enterprise scheme by groups of 17-year-old students from schools all over the county, except for Stroud where for some reason the schools have given the idea the cold shoulder - so far.

The pictures on this page were all taken last week at the Gloucestershire Young Enterprise trade exhibition, held annually for the past five years at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The trade exhibition is the culmination of at least six months work during which time the groups of sixth formers have formed themselves into a commercial team with a board of directors, managers and production and sales staff.

They have come up with a commercial idea and a business plan, raised the starting capital from a high-street bank, researched and manufactured the product and sold it to their friends, families, schoolmates and staff and sometimes even in the competitive world outside.

The schools taking part every year include comprehensives, grammar schools, special schools, sixth form colleges and schools from the independent sector.

The teams not only enjoy the experience and derive an enormous amount of satisfaction from producing a worthwhile product from scratch but they also gain a tremendous insight into the worlds of manufacturing and commerce and leave school better equipped for the harsh reality of earning a living.

Every year the adult supporters of the Young Enterprise scheme are astonished by the commitment, ingenuity, enthusiasm, dedication and drive of the youngsters involved. The Stroud News & Journal has always been a strong supporter of the scheme and for a number of years has sponsored the Best Product category.

In past years products have included toweling beach bags that fold out for use as full-size towels on the beach, a compendium of after-dinner games, weather vanes, double-sided photograph frames, padded cases for mobile telephones, designer stationery, trendy and colourful wheel guards for wheelchair users, garden furniture, potted plants raised from seed and sold in decorative pots and enamel signs for house and garden.

This year the range included custom-printed knickers, wax hand moulds, paper bricks, an electronic medical and discount card, bird boxes, greetings cards and a tuck shop (particularly popular at the exhibition itself).

The most impressive product, and the one that took the majority of the prizes on offer at the trade exhibition, was a potentially life-saving device created at Westonbirt School.

The Westonbirt team of 14 girls had examined the headline-hitting problem of deep vein thrombosis affecting long-haul airline passengers.

They sought medical advice and worked on the problem with a number of prototypes before coming up with the solution.

Their final product was a brief-case sized black plastic box with two pedals to be placed on the floor in front of the seats and worked throughout the flight to keep circulation flowing through the legs.

Westonbirt called their company Walking on Air and the retail price of the pedal box is an attractive 4.99.

The box has been so successful that orders are now outstripping the company's ability to produce the goods. But this is a temporary problem on which the girls are now working.

The majority of this year's companies will shortly be wound up, their jobs successfully done. Westonbirt, however, now goes on to represent Gloucestershire at the South West regional finals and will have to keep Walking on Air as a going concern for a few more months, which with AS levels to study for as well may be no easy task.

Philip Timson, of Business Link Gloucestershire, was one of the two judges of the Best Product category. He said his own daughter had taken part in the scheme seven years ago and had since entered the commercial world with a confidence he doubts she would otherwise have had.

"What impresses me is the enormous creativity displayed by the students, the quality and practicality of the products and the excellent use they all make of modern technology," he said.

"The market research is also very thorough and the materials and methods of production are comprehensively researched. It is a tremendous scheme." The other product judge, Mike Dawson, a former British Energy executive, said he was impressed by the confidence displayed by the managing directors and finance directors of the teams, who had to speak to the judges at length.

He was also impressed by the detailed knowledge the students had of the progress of their companies, of their ability to keep track of the orders and stock lists and to solve production and sales problems as they cropped up to the extent of making minor changes, if necessary, to the product even after it had gone on sale.

Mayor of Cheltenham Cllr Clive Lloyd who presented the prizes, said this year's exhibition made him very proud of the young people of Gloucestershire. The exhibition is open to the public and entry is free. Were I a manufacturer I would certainly make a visit each year, if only to steal a few good ideas.

And I sincerely hope that next year there will be at least one Stroud school represented.

*For more details of Gloucestershire Young Enterprise contact John McClune, Area Development Manager, Goodrich Lodge, Cedar Grove, Walford, Ross on Wye, HR9 5RY, or e-mail him at johnmcclune@yeglos.co.uk

This years Young Enterprise winners

Most Innovative Product (sponsored by Stagecoach) 1st Westonbirt School 2nd Sir William Romneys School 3rd Pates Grammar School

Best Manufactured Product (sponsored by Spirax Sarco) 1st Westonbirt School 2nd Sir William Romneys School 3rd Cheltenham Ladies College

Best Team Programme Company (sponsored by Gloucestershire Industrial Services) Winner National Star Centre

Most Retail Impact 1st National Star Centre 2nd Cheltenham Ladies College 3rd Cheltenham Ladies College

Best Product (sponsored by Stroud News & Journal) 1st Westonbirt School 2nd Pates Grammar School 3rd Balcarras School

Best Stand at Exhibition (sponsored by Gloucestershire Echo) 1st St Edwards School 2nd Cheltenham Ladies College 3rd Westonbirt School