PRESS RELEASE
- Sarum Hall Year 6 girls launch their own mini-businesses as part of the LifeLab: Young Minds at Work programme aiming to increase enterprise and employability skills
- Girls were given a £40 loan to launch their own start-up business
- Each team member takes on a clear role in the business: Marketing, Sales, Finance, Operations and Business Manager
- Prizes given for ‘best pitch’ and ‘most profit’
Belsize Park, London, Monday 16th May 2022: – Year 6 girls at Sarum Hall School, an independent prep school for girls in London’s Belsize Park, found themselves in a mock Dragon’s Den last week. The girls have been taking part in an 8-week course run by LifeLab, an innovative programme, engaging children in the skills of business.
This is the second year that the school has taken part in the programme, which takes children through the process of starting their own business.
Children are put in teams and given clearly defined business roles, such as marketing, sales, finance, operations, and general business, as well as a £40 business loan to kick start the business. Together they must come up with a business idea and make it a reality. They have just 8 weeks, to think of a product or service, plan how they will market and sell, and also forecast their costs, revenue and profit.
Girls are taught in the language of business, learning about phrases such as ‘adding value’ and ‘product differentiation’, as well as learning about the importance of sales and marketing. Children have also enjoyed designing their own logos, posters, websites, and PowerPoint presentations.
Some of the business ideas and products created this year include hair accessories, desk pets, cupcakes, and clay rings.
The course culminated in an Enterprise Day on Wednesday 11th May, where teams formally pitched their ideas and business plans to a panel of judges (or dragons!) which included the head teacher. After the pitch process, girls sold their products or services to their fellow school friends from market-style stalls, which they also had to design. They were competing for the prizes of ‘Most Profitable Business’ and ‘Best Pitch’ which will be awarded later in the year when the teams have had a chance to calculate their profit and loss, and finalise their balance sheets.
Deputy Headmistress Miss Beverly Gayton commented:
“Girls at Sarum Hall often demonstrate the attributes of successful entrepreneurs. They are resilient, natural risk takers who aren’t afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. They are extraordinarily keen to make things happen, and have an overwhelmingly positive attitude to exciting new projects. That’s why we believe that educating them early in the skills of business is so important”
She continues:
“The LifeLab project is a fantastic way of focusing the girls on their business ideas, coaching them on how to make an effective sales pitch, and understanding the finances and operational realities of bringing their businesses to life. We’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of ideas and hard work that has gone into each team’s business. Perhaps soon we’ll hear of some real-world business success stories from our girls!”
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About Sarum Hall School
Sarum Hall is an independent girl’s school in London’s Belsize Park. The modern building was purpose built in 1995 and students benefit from large, spacious and light classrooms which promote creativity and curiosity in learning. The girls have a variety of lessons with specialist teachers alongside the core subjects of English, Maths and Science, including Sports, Music, Art, Drama, French, Mandarin and Computing, which allow the children to excel in a variety of fields.
For more information and photographs, please contact:
Helen Gleeson
Food Studio Events & Marketing Manager
hgleeson@sarumhallschool.co.uk
07957 919 149
