Five schools from across the West Midlands are set to battle it out to be crowned as the region’s most enterprising school as part of a flagship education initiative driven by Mosaic, HRH The Prince of Wales’ mentoring charity.
Teams of pupils from King’s Heath Boys, Grace Academy Darlaston, St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School, Grace Academy Solihull and Grace Academy Coventry have already beaten off competition from 17 other schools in the region to reach the West Midlands Regional Final of Mosaic’s 2016 Enterprise Challenge competition on 8 March 2016.
The final will see the teams go head-to-head in a Dragons’ Den style event in front of a prestigious panel of judges including Sultan Choudhury, CEO of Al Rayan Bank, Uzair Bawany, Managing Partner of Fairway Search Partners and Lucy Fairclough, Associate Director at KPMG.
The winning team will then progress to the Enterprise Challenge Grand Final in London on 4 May 2016 where they will compete against the winning schools from the North West, South East, Yorkshire, Scotland and London itself, to be crowned national champions.
Run annually, the Enterprise Challenge is a national competition that aims to inspire knowledge, raise aspirations, confidence, self-efficacy and long-term employability among secondary school pupils from some of the most deprived communities across the UK. Supported by specialist, volunteer mentors from across the business community, students compete for six-weeks in an online business game where they must develop, market and sell a new product.
The team crowned national champion on 4 May will receive a prize of £2,500 for their school and a further £500 to invest in developing their business idea and making it a commercial reality. Previous winners have also enjoyed tea at 10 Downing Street and a unique tour of Clarence House.
Becky Mitchell, Mosaic’s West Midlands Regional Manager, said: “The standard of teams from across the West Midlands was higher than ever this year and proof that the young people in our region, whatever their background, are a source of pride and excitement about the future.
“I’m really looking forward to the Regional Final and discovering which of our schools will be going to the Grand Final for a chance to be crowned national champion. Last but by no means least, I would like to thank our team of volunteer mentors who generously give up their time to coach, support and inspire the pupils taking part in the competition.”
The West Midlands Regional Final will take place at the offices of KPMG in Birmingham and be hosted by ITV News presenter Sameena Ali-Khan. Local Entrepreneur Joel Blake FRSA has been confirmed as the event’s guest speaker.
Mosaic’s Enterprise Challenge is generously sponsored nationally by Apax Foundation and Qatar Charity UK and supported by Totem Learning. Nael Faragy is the principal regional supporter.
For more information on becoming a Mosaic mentor, please call 020 7566 8734 or email mosaic@bitc.org.uk
