Business savvy pupils from four schools in the North East got the chance to show off their new entrepreneurial and budgeting skills while raising money for their schools during a recent visit to the Christmas Grainger Market in Newcastle, having participated in Virgin Money’s Make £5 Grow programme.
Over 70 pupils, from four Newcastle schools participated in the programme – St Anne’s Primary School in Harlow Green, Ponteland High School, Woodlawn School in Whitley Bay and St Joseph’s Primary School in Blaydon.
Pupils from each school worked together to form teams with their classmates and produce business and marketing plans that would help them create unique items to sell. Products included everything from sweet treats and loom band bracelets to Christmas ornaments and snowman candles which they sold to impressed shoppers at the Grainger Markets.
St Anne’s Primary School raised £276 which will be used for a donation to their class charity, St Oswald’s hospice charity, and the rest is being spent on school events. Ponteland High School made £194 profit and Woodlawn school made £150 - both schools will use the money to treat the pupils to a school trip.
For those eager to support Newcastle’s young entrepreneurs, pupils from St Joseph’s primary school will be selling at the Grainger Markets on 19th December.
Claire Louise Henry, class teacher at St Anne’s Primary School, said: “It was a brilliant experience for all of the children and a great way for them to experience adult life, managing money and being entrepreneurs.”
Watch what St Anne’s pupils said they enjoyed most about participating in the Make £5 Grow event.
Kate Morris, student at Ponteland High School, said: “It’s been great fun taking part in Make £5 Grow. I’ve loved being creative and being able to go out on a trip. It’s been good coming to the Grainger Market and talking to new people.”
Jasmin Sanghera, community manager at Virgin Money, said: "Make £5 Grow helps nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs by boosting their confidence in money management and emphasising the importance of financial education from an early age. This event provided a fantastic opportunity for the children to expand their experience, while raising money for their schools."
Make £5 Grow is an exciting and engaging project by Virgin Money designed for school pupils aged 9-11 years old. It aims to foster creativity while equipping young people with essential financial knowledge and money management skills.
Participating children are encouraged to develop innovative business ideas and generate a profit for their school, using a £5 loan per child from Virgin Money. The programme provides pupils with an insight into how the world of business and finance works. It helps them to build key money management skills by starting a small business, with access to a Virgin Money Business Ambassador for business support and a suite of curriculum-based classroom tools. The schools get to keep any profit made after repaying the initial £5 loan.
Launched in 2011, Make £5 Grow has supported over 200,000 pupils from over 3,000 schools. For more information or to find out how your school can take part in the programme, visit: https://make-5-grow.co.uk/.