News: Rotherham's latest Tenner Tycoons

A group of young entrepreneurs from Rotherham have been awarded one of ten prestigious titles in the international Tenner Tycoon competition run by Dragon's Den star, Peter Jones.

The year 6 students at Brinsworth Howarth J&I School worked together to run a Macbeth themed money-making scheme.

They had a fair selling delights such as "witches brew" and "spider buns" and a whole host of games and competitions. They also helped the community with a "Cawdor carwash" and a cleaning service inspired by the idea of witches on broomsticks.

The pupils raised £879 altogether and are donating it to school-related projects, including £400 to the year 6 Macbeth production.

Head teacher Maxine Crawford said that the atmosphere in school was "electric" after receiving the news. Mrs Crawford said: "Enterprise features in every lesson – it might not always be about running a business, but it is about an exciting and relevant approach to learning that gives ownership to children and lets them take the lead."

A spokesperson for Tenner Tycoon added: "This was an outstanding idea. There really were no others which could compete with the creativity and teamwork demonstrated by children at Brinsworth Howarth. We were very impressed."

Tenner Tycoon works in the same way as Rotherham Ready's successful "Make £5 Blossom" scheme where young people are encouraged to make money, make a difference and give back.

As one of ten winners, the Rotherham pupils will be invited to meet Peter Jones and a host of other succesful entrepreneurs in London.

Currently recognised as the most enterprising place in Britain, Rotherham secured the top prize in the Enterprising Britain competition 2010. Judges were impressed by the complete package for developing enterprise - with Rotherham Ready inspiring children about business as soon as they start school, and Rotherham Youth Enterprise providing all the support young people need to make their business dreams a reality.

Rotherham Ready website
Tenner Tycoon website

Images: tenner-tycoon.org

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News: Rotherham MP backs Peter Jones' Tenner Tycoon campaign

Rotherham's John Healey MP is supporting a scheme that sees school kids encouraged to start a business with just £10 each.

The Wentworth and Dearne MP is backing Tenner Tycoon, which will see the campaigning charity Enterprise UK loan hundreds of thousands of pounds to young people across the UK to encourage them to start up their own businesses.

Participants in Tenner Tycoon will receive £10 and be challenged to make as much profit and social good as they can in a month.

The scheme is similar to Rotherham Ready's successful "Make £5 Blossom" scheme and Mr Healey will work with the world-leading Rotherham project to make sure as many young people as possible get involved.

John Healey MP said: "When I helped set up Rotherham Ready we wanted to give all young people entrepreneurial skills and business acumen. From that Rotherham was recently crowned the most enterprising place in Britain.

"Tenner Tycoon is another chance for our young people to showcase their skills and ingenuity whilst gaining practical business experience. Initiatives like this aim to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs and ensure the future prosperity of the UK."

Catherine Brentnall, Project Officer for Rotherham Ready added: "Rotherham was recently crowned The Most Enterprising Place in Britain and part of what wowed judges was the spirit of entrepreneurship and "can do" that young people demonstrated. We hope as many young people as possible take part in this and show judges just what makes Rotherham so special."

The competition runs from March 1 – March 31 and offers up to 40,000 young people under the age of 19 to make money, make a difference and give back. The money in the Tenner Bank has been generously funded by Peter Jones, Big Lottery Fund and Michael and Xochi Birch, founders of social networking site Bebo.

Rotherham Ready website
Tenner Tycoon website

Images: brchamber.co.uk

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