A TEAM of year ten students from Saint Martin’s School scooped the Best Presentation prize at the Young Enterprise Birmingham and Solihull Area final on Thursday (May 12).
Consisting of 12 members, the girls first established their Young Enterprise company Ignitus last September.
Team members included Francesca Kenna – managing director – Alice Davis, Ella Whatley, Vritti Patel, Elizabeth Batemen, Amy Minshull, Jade Horan, Lauren Hampton, Harriet Martin, Isabelle Gough, Pippa Vella and Annabel Bamford.
After undertaking market research amongst their peers, the group made the decision to sell seasonal gifts during Christmas and Easter.
To fund their business, the team sold shares before the Christmas period and attended fairs at local venues including David Lloyd, Solihull Arden Tennis Club and the Christmas Trade Fair organised by Young Enterprise in Birmingham.
The girls quickly established confidence by learning to sell to potential customers as well as sourcing materials for their gift range.
Through hard work and perseverance, the team managed to almost double their start-up capital.
The programme culminated with the Area Final, hosted in Arup, where the team of girls presented their business to a range of other local schools, company advisors and a panel of judges.
Team members Francesca, Vritti, Alice and Ella presented confidently and clearly throughout their pitch, despite being two years younger than most of the other teams.
Judges were particularly impressed with their presentation, especially given the girls were the only team to present without the use of any notes.
Chris Mason, head of business studies and economics at Saint Martin’s said: “The girls have worked together extremely well and have learnt a huge amount about the business world.
“Given that they were considerably younger than their other rival companies, to be rewarded with Best Presentation is a real vindication of their efforts and just shows what they can do later in life.”
