For the past few months, an industrious group of Year 10 students have been taking part in an exciting entrepreneurial project: ‘Challenge 300’ which sees them running their own business to support their chosen charitable cause.  We’re so proud of the team which consists of: Aaliyah, Akavi, Esha, Jasmine, Nour, and Saachi.

We meet them below and hear what they have to say about their entrepreneurial project: 

Challenge 300 is an amazing opportunity to start a business in school where you can learn valuable teamwork and collaboration skills as well as wider knowledge of how a business works. Our goal is to raise at least £300 for a charity of our choice, hence the name. We are passionate about raising awareness for different causes and helping those less fortunate.

We, as individuals, a school and a charity, strongly believe in good mental and physical well-being for everyone and are passionate about this cause. That is why we chose to support the British Indian Psychiatric Association, an organisation made up of volunteer professionals, mainly psychiatrists. BIPA aims to make mental health accessible to all (especially ethnic minority groups who are statistically less likely to ask for help regarding their mental health). The money we raise through our business will pay for leaflets and set up camps around Yorkshire to raise awareness of mental health. We are hoping to organise a visit from the charity in school, where a guest speaker will provide students with basic mental health information and useful resources.

Onto our business…..we decided to start a hot chocolate business in school because it caters to students seeking a warm drink during cold weather, has the potential for high demand and profit margins, and provides a practical learning experience in business planning, cost calculation, and advertising for the students involved. We plan to change the menu based on upcoming festivities and add some variety to the food on offer at break.

Before starting our business, we conducted market research and a competitive analysis to understand if our business is needed or wanted, identify their target customers, and assess the competition. This research helped us determine an understanding of customer preferences for example the choice between selling hot drinks or cold drinks.

In order to be more inclusive, we want to be able to give everyone a chance to experience different tastes from around the world. This way we will be spreading awareness, celebrating different festivals and showcasing delicious foods. Challenge 300 will be selling our goods every Tuesday breaktime (until half-term) and we anticipate upcoming stalls celebrating Chinese New Year, Shrove Tuesday, Rio Carnival and more!

Our fundraising culminated on Wednesday 7th February, where we organised a pancake stall with lots of toppings, alongside our usual hot-chocolate offerings. It was very popular and we were thrilled to see students from across the Senior section join us and support our philanthropic efforts.