As the new Young Enterprise Co-ordinator I was delighted that so many girls wanted to be involved in the programme.  Two companies were duly formed:  ‘Allsorts’ and ‘Emerald’.  Both teams were brimming over with enthusiasm and ideas to make their mark in the world of business!  The past year has been a wonderful challenge for them; believe me, developing ideas for innovative products for the paying customer is no easy task!  At the end of April, both companies were represented at the ‘Young Enterprise Finals’ held in Newport.  The event was attended by eight schools and the girls faced tough competition from other Young Enterprise companies.

The Finals event gave the girls the opportunity to showcase their products and achievements, whilst undertaking a vigorous selection process, which judged them on their trade stand, presentation, business report and further questioning by six judges from industry (Sir Alan Sugar would have been impressed!).  Unfortunately, the girls did not go through to the Welsh Finals, but both companies performed exceptionally well and ‘Allsorts’ won ‘Best Company Report’.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank the advisors who supported the girls and also both companies, Allsorts and Emerald, for all their hard work.  Both teams did really well and I hope that you enjoy reading the accounts of their hectic year below.

Miss M. Attrill, Young Enterprise Co-ordinator

Allsorts

Allsorts, a branch of Young Enterprise was formed by thirteen ambitious Year 12 students, all eager to share their money making ideas.  The first hurdle that we encountered was naming the company and thinking of ideas of what we wanted to sell.  The general consensus was that there was not one specific idea, but loads that the directors wanted to develop further.  This gave us a brilliant idea for our name -‘Allsorts’!

Our primary product this year was handmade aprons using two styles of fabric to suit the two markets we identified.  These were either a retro pattern, for the buyer with the modern kitchen who wanted a modern style apron, or a country style pattern (think Cath Kidston), to match a country style kitchen.  We found this a thoroughly profitable adventure and made over £400 in profit.  Since the beginning of the year, we have had several small and quick profit making products to give us a successful turnover.  We sold Roses for Valentines Day and sold glow sticks and refreshments at the Year 7 and 8 disco, which made just over £100.

April saw us compete at the Monmouthshire and Torfaen Board Finals where we were thoroughly proud of winning the ‘Best Company Report’.  Nearing the end of our trading year we have made just over £750 profit meaning that we have tripled our shareholders money!  This wouldn’t have been possible if it were not for Miss Attrill, our Link Teacher, and Jeremy and Carleen Martin of ‘Imica Business Consultants’ for being superb business advisors!

Isobel (Managing Director), Year 12

Emerald

The past year has been a huge learning curve for our Young Enterprise team - ‘Emerald’; we have dealt with many different situations that will hopefully help us later in life.  The biggest challenge was deciding on our product.  We had lots of ideas, but we knew that we wanted to focus on the environment.  After lots of discussion we agreed to focus on a product which would help educate children about the importance of caring for the environment. We carried out market research, and spoke to children, as well as companies, to see if they would be interested in our idea:  a board game - a fun way to learn about the environment.  To raise capital to fund the product, we sold white roses on Valentines Day, which generated a very healthy profit, and were very pleased with the sales success at both schools.  The Young Enterprise Finals in April was a great opportunity and good experience for us.  The team firstly fielded intense questioning from a panel of judges, to be followed by Grace and Rhiannon making an impressive presentation at the end of the event. I would also like to thank Rhiannon, Lorna and Grace who produced an amazing trade stand.

It has been an incredible experience for us, one we have greatly enjoyed and learnt from.  We would like to thank Miss Attrill for all the help and time she has given us over the past year, without which we would not have been able to operate as a company!

Kiloran (Managing Director), Year 12