Enterprising pupils get down to business
9:21am Thursday 21st February 2013 in News
IT all added up for young entrepreneurs who found themselves swapping the classroom for the boardroom.
Every class at St Catherine’s CE Primary School, in Horwich, from nursery to Year Six, was asked to set up a mini-business.
The youngsters were given the task of thinking of every detail, from business ideas to the running costs.
Teachers came up with the enterprise week idea to encourage children to use their maths skills.
Some of the children’s ideas included making and selling fridge magnets, Gruffalo biscuits, Fairtrade goods, gingerbread men, luxury chocolates, picture frames, plant pots and bird boxes.
The school was transformed into a bustling market place in which children sold their wares to parents and staff.
Headteacher Karen Graham said: “We hope that, aside from the pleasure and excitement they have shown from beginning to end, they have improved their mental maths and written calculation skills, they are more confident to calculate money and also that they have a greater understanding of how business works.
“We knew the week was going to be interesting, but we didn’t realise what a huge range of valuable life experiences it would also bring — from managing a budget to presenting to an audience, dealing with the public and being persuasive in writing and verbally.”
The school was supported by local businesses including Gold Star UK, Greenhalghs, Arthur Lane Nurseries, Dulux and the Co-op.
Antonio Serventi, aged 11, said: “The first day of enterprise week we were told we would be making bird boxes in our class.
“We were charged for everything — including Mr Clift, our site manager’s time.
“We put a business plan and presentation together to persuade the school office to give us a start-up loan.
“We used money skills, profit and loss, balancing a budget and we weren’t allowed to overspend.”
Alicia Pollitt, aged 11, added: “I had to deal with everyday maths skills. We were also excited that we had Mr Clift. But, when we found out we had to pay for his time, we had to rethink how we were going to do it without him.
“Selling the product was pressured, but we used our skills to get us through.”
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