Young entrepreneurs have celebrated their achievements following successful completion of a six-month business challenge. Students from 22 secondary schools across County Durham have taken part in the Future Business Magnates competition, organised by Durham County Council. The competition, now in its seventh year, is an opportunity for schools to encourage students to develop enterprise skills and experience the excitement and exhilaration of working in business.

Schools were paired with local companies, which acted as mentors for the students, who were tasked with developing a business idea and completing a series of six business-related challenges. The competition winners were announced at an awards ceremony, which took place at the Xcel Centre, in Newton Aycliffe. The winning team was Park View School in Chester-le-Street, with their business, ‘Big Licks’, producing healthy frozen yoghurt. The judges said it was, “an excellent all-round performance with a product that is new to the North East and ready for market”.

The team was mentored by Barbara Croce from Coffee Latino and received £2,000 for the school and £50 for each team member as well as the winners’ trophy. In second place was the team from Bishop Barrington School, in Bishop Auckland, with their business ‘Colour-Ring Cousins’, an educational kit to teach young children about colour theory, including primary and secondary colours, in a fun way. The team was mentored by Paul Storey from MRB Schumag and received £1,250 for the school and £35 for each team member, in addition to a trophy.

The team from Framwellgate School, Durham, won the third place trophy, £750 for the school and £25 for each team member. They were partnered by Durham Office Services and their business idea was ‘Fashem’, a range of fashionable jewellery which features important medical information such as details of allergies or medical conditions. Eight additional awards were made, with a trophy for each winning team and £20 prizes for each team member, which were as follows:

  • Most creative business idea – St John’s Catholic School and Sixth Form Centre;
  • Best brand name – Durham High School for Girls;
  • Best marketing slogan – Greenfield Community Arts School;
  • Best use of advice and support – Sunnydale School;
  • Most effective team – Parkside Sports College;
  • Best use of technology – Ferryhill Business and Enterprise College;
  • Best presentation – Durham Johnston School;
  • Best financial plan – St. Leonard’s Catholic School.

Cllr Pauline Charlton, vice-chairman at Durham County Council, who welcomed students and business people to the awards ceremony, said: “The county council is delighted to have been able to continue this successful competition for schools across County Durham. “Our thanks go to all of the businesses that have sponsored and supported the competition and given up their time to mentor the school teams – we couldn’t have done it without them. It is fantastic to see 22 of the county’s secondary schools taking part this year. We hope that what the pupils have learned in this year’s competition will inspire them to become our future business people.”

The following businesses and organisations supported the Future Business Magnates Awards 2012 ceremony: CC Creative Workshops; Pink Label Marketing; Star Radio; County Durham Enterprise Agencies; Stephenson Gobin; Edward Robertson; Business Durham; Santander Bank; The County Durham Economic Partnership and Esh CharitableTrust. A further 24 businesses supported the competition either as business partners or judges, with Thorn Lighting and Durham University providing venues to host some of the competition challenges during the year.