William Howard’s Young Enterprise team ‘Cutting Edge’ took part in the finals of the Young Enterprise Competition at Edge Hill University in Ormskirk on Wednesday 25th March.
The students had to run a trade stand, take part in an interview with industry professionals, submit a company report, and deliver a four-minute presentation in the conference centre to a large audience.
The team were outstanding throughout the day, interacting brilliantly with other schools and even trading items with them. Teams in the finals included schools from Lancashire, Cheshire and three Cumbria schools: Cockermouth, Queen Elizabeth and William Howard.
The feedback from the Young Enterprise Area Lead was glowing: “They did amazing and are a lovely bunch of kids – many people commented on that!”
There were three winning award categories, and we are delighted to share that Cutting Edge won the Best Presentation award. They delivered the first presentation of the event and, impressively, chose not to use PowerPoint. Instead, they spoke passionately about their roles and how they have developed as a team throughout the process. Judges commented that they “loved the way the team prompted each other by first name and clearly recognised everyone’s strengths.”
The team also highlighted how their own interests helped shape their product ideas. James, Junior Captain at Brampton Golf Club; Shaun, Goalkeeper for Queen of the South FC; and Liam, who plays cricket for Lanercost, explained how their sporting experiences inspired the sports-themed designs of their keyrings.
Elizabeth, Theo and Zac spoke about the strong local link to McVitie’s biscuit factory, proudly sharing the tagline: “Carlisle smells of biscuits”, inspired by the famous scent near the factory gates.
The trophy will soon be delivered to school, and the students will be visiting assemblies to share their presentation and inspire younger year groups.
After Easter, there will be one final opportunity to purchase their Custard Cream, Jammy Dodger and sports-themed keyrings.
Thank you to our DT staff for their invaluable technical support.
