Enterprise Trophy for Girls' Vision
Thursday, 10 February 2011
Just eight points separated the four teams that reached the final of the Hi-Life Diners' Club Enterprise Trophy, held at Bolton School. In what is always a highly competitive event, Spectrum, comprising five Year 12 girls, finally ran out as this year's winner.
The annual competition, which pits the best two girls' Sixth Form teams against the two best teams from the boys' school, was the closest it has ever been with all the teams presenting viable business propositions through professional presentations to a judging panel and an audience of students and teachers.
The judging panel - "the dragons" - comprised Brian Muir of BEAT, Stephanie Foster, a Partner at Rivington Associates and Call Centre Manager, Phil Warriner. They had the unenviable task of declaring a winner from the four high quality offerings.
The competition begins during the Autumn Term when Sixth Form students take part in Business Enterprise and Awareness Training (BEAT) courses, run by Brian Muir and the Careers Department. Following the programme, the 240 students from Year 12 of both divisions, form teams of six to develop prospective new businesses offering a new product or service with a view to asking a local bank for a business loan to set up their new enterprise. The four teams that had won through to the final had thus already overcome a lot of competition and had chance to polish their performance along the way. On the night, each group made a ten minute presentation, backed up by PowerPoint slides, to a panel of judges. Teams were put under considerable pressure in defending the virtues and merits of their marketing strategies and cash-flow forecasts.
Spectrum opened the pitches with an excellent presentation explaining their proposition of offering different coloured silicon cases which can be slipped onto spectacles, allowing the wearer to colour coordinate their eyeware to their clothes; Virtual School of Motoring's premise was to allow individuals to learn to drive from the comfort of their armchair; Party in a Box presented on how parents could buy everything one might require for a young child's party in one box - from invites to games to party bags; and Noctiglow offered a cyclist's glow-in-the-dark jacket which incorporated flashing lights in the back operable via a glove.
After grilling each team with some searching questions the judges made their decision and the winning team was announced as Spectrum with the runners-up being Noctiglow. Mr Muir of BEAT commended all the students for their "outstandingly good presentations" and for floating truly viable business propositions. He felt this really had been the hardest year ever to judge.
It is the first year that Hi-Life Diners' Club has sponsored the trophy and apologies were sent from Lisa Lund, their Commercial Director, who could not make it on the night.
You can learn more about their offer here.
