On 12th February 2014, HRH The Duke of York hosted the Tycoon in Schools Awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace, as part of his role as Patron of the Peter Jones Foundation.
Attending the ceremony were children from each of the four winning teams, their teachers, and supporters and Trustees of the Peter Jones Foundation.
The Tycoon in Schools competition, now in its second year, saw 11,000 pupils from across the UK take on the challenge of starting their own business. Students begin the competition with making a pitch for a business loan, and then those who are selected put their plan into action and begin a month of trading. The winners were selected after trading completed.
The overall winner of the competition was Funnelling 4 Fuel, from Avonbourne College Bournemouth, who will now receive £1,000 of investment from The Peter Jones Foundation to take their business forwards. The Funnelling 4 Fuel team ran an eco-friendly enterprise that repurposed recycled cooking oil as fuel to run their college minibuses.
Awards were also presented to:
The Tycoon in Schools Award for Best Teamwork – Avonbourne College, Funnelling 4 Fuel
The Tycoon in Schools Award for Community Engagement – Felpham Community College, 1st Response@felpham
The Tycoon in Schools Award for Sustainability – Haberdashers’ Aske’s Crayford Academy, Heavy Holders
The Tycoon in Schools Award for Innovative Idea Business Concept – Queen Anne’s School, Back into Vintage LTD
James Runnacles, Funelling 4 Fuel team member, said:
“We were thrilled to have made the finals, and then couldn’t believe it when it was announced that we were the overall winners. When we all opened our invites to Buckingham Palace we were so excited. We see Peter Jones as a role model so it was fantastic to get to meet him at the ceremony.
“Entering the Tycoon in Schools competition was a fantastic experience. Not only were we given the chance to start up a business from scratch whilst still at school, we were generating a real profit from it.
“We have learnt an enormous amount from the experience, which we hope will stand us in good stead for our future ventures.”
The competition is open to all school children across England between the ages of 11 and 18. For more information about the competition, including how to participate in 2014-15, please visit: http://www.tycooninschools.com
