4 school and college teams from the Isle of Wight have excelled at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Grand Final of the Young Enterprise Company Programme.
Organised on the Isle of Wight by education charity Ed-WISE, the programme challenges student teams to launch and run a real business over the course of the academic year. Against strong opposition from experienced mainland schools, Island teams secured the top 2 places and swept up a majority of the awards on offer.
Christ The King College were crowned Grand Final winners with their business ‘Spin-itch’ – a fidget tool designed to help people improve concentration. Isle of Wight College’s ‘Paws of Wisdom’, which develops intelligent pet toys, finished in second place. Both teams now progress to the South East Regional Final in London later this month.
Christ The King College also won the Sustainability Award. Further recognition went to The Bay CE School, with ‘Wight Bites’ receiving the Highly Commended award for their Island-inspired cookbook and ‘Martel Glamour’ receiving the Team Journey Award for their bespoke jewellery business.
Melanie Lewis from Ed-WISE has said:
“The judging panel made it clear that the standard of entry from Island teams was exceptional, especially around innovation and that the progress of some of the business ventures was quite unparalleled.”
The South East Regional Final will see teams present their businesses to a panel of industry leaders and compete for a place at the national final.
