Grove School students have shown that they mean business after winning two awards in a competition for young entrepreneurs in Shropshire.
The students were invited to the Shropshire Young Enterprise Celebration of Achievement awards evening at Shrewsbury Town Football Club earlier this month.
They were praised for successfully setting up and running their businesses over the past year, with a team called Prestige winning an award for the best use of technology.
There was also success for Scarlett Kelly who won the best leadership award as “managing director” of Heavenscent which produces and sells organic and hand-made bath salts and balms.
Scarlett, 17, said: “We seemed to kick off really well from the start, we had an idea and things have gone very well.
“There’s nine of us in the group and we have to stay after school to make the products.
“But it’s been great fun, we’ve learned a lot of things and got on well as a team.”
Prestige produces candles and artwork and sells them online, with students also selling their goods at Market Drayton’s outdoor market on Wednesdays.
Managing director Jodie Burrows, 16 , said: “We didn’t really start off well but once we bucked up our ideas and came up with a product, it went from there.
“We made the product, sold it and made a really good profit, but we’ve still got lots of candles to sell.
“I think my mum is sick of the site of them in the house, but she’s been really supportive and my sister has been helping us sell them as well.”
The Grove’s Young Enterprise programme is supervised by business studies teacher Tom Kinnersley who said: “It’s fantastic working with the students as you got to see them in a completely different light.
“It’s not easy for them to send a letter to one of their friends saying ‘you’re fired’ but they all had to do it and it’s all part of growing up.
“The journey from what they were at the beginning to the successful young entrepreneurs they are now makes me immensely proud of them and their achievements.
“They have worked tirelessly and got their rewards for it.”
By Winston Brown
