A student team from Christ The King College has beaten competition from across the South East to reach the National Final of this year’s Young Enterprise Company Programme.
The team, known as Spin-itch, developed a business centred around a unique fidget tool designed to help improve concentration. Their efforts saw them crowned South East Regional Champions following a competitive final that included presentations to a panel of business leaders.
The Young Enterprise Company Programme challenges student teams to launch and run a business over the course of the academic year. It is organised locally by Ed-WISE, an Isle of Wight-based education charity that works to connect education with the world of business and improve outcomes for young people.
Also representing the Isle of Wight in the regional round were students from Isle of Wight College with their business, Paws of Wisdom, focused on intelligent pet toys.
With over 600 student teams entering the national competition, reaching this final stage is a major achievement. It also marks the second consecutive year that a team from the Isle of Wight has progressed this far – following the success of Wild Wax Melts from Carisbrooke College and Medina College last year.
Hari Blair, managing director of Spin-Itch, has said:
“The Young Enterprise programme has helped me to gain many skills from working as a team to business expertise. It has been an incredible opportunity and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in business”
Melanie Lewis from Ed-WISE has said:
“The panel of judges were greatly impressed with the overall Spin-itch business model, but aspects around innovation and market research really stood out in the judging.”
The Spin-itch team will now travel to Manchester for the National Final on Tuesday 4th June, where they will compete against the UK’s top student-run companies.
