Several teams from Year 9 got involved in the 10X Challenge – along with three teams from the Tycoon Challenge (two from Year 8 and one from Year 12) spent an afternoon promoting and selling their products in the annual buzzy Enterprise Fair on Monday afternoon. There were businesses selling earrings, customised bead bracelets and keychains, homemade candles – one Year 8 team, `the team of 3.9 billion’ will be donating a percentage of their profit to Women’s Aid. As our students displayed their products with pride and personality, the spirt of industry and creativity was palpable! 

Top performing team in the 10X Challenge was ‘Wild Beads’. We asked the team of Juliette, Beatrice, Hannah, Corinne and Ishani all about their success:

What were your products – why did you choose them to sell?

For the 10X challenge we used second hand beads to create one-of-a-kind jewellery for every occasion. Our jewellery was unique, and the beads used were different every time. Our aim was to celebrate the uniqueness of everyone, and we did this by creating our company, Wild Beads. We created it to focus on our favourite parts of each season.

Which was the most fun part of the whole process?

 Our favourite part of the creation of our company and the challenge, was coming up with designs which incorporated the best bits of each season.  We loved to come up with designs and enjoyed selling our products at the fair as well as delivering them.

What was the hardest thing?

 At the beginning of the challenge, we discovered that our wire was not strong enough and therefore had to buy some more and make sure that it was sturdy. As well as this, in the middle of the competition, we found that our orders were slowing down and so we had to launch more designs to try to increase our sales. 

 How did you get on at the fair?

We found the fair to be a great opportunity to showcase our products and we also sold limited edition jewellery, which was not on our website. The fair also helped us to interact with our customers and to get feedback from them on their opinions of our products. 

 What would you do differently if you were to do it again? Or any tips for Year 10 doing it next year?

 If we were to do the 10X challenge again we would have ensured that all the materials that we used were good quality and not breakable. As well as this, although we made a considerable profit, we found it difficult to advertise our business outside of the school. Therefore, our advice is to extend your target audience beyond school.

 How did it compare to watching similar challenges on The Apprentice?!

As a group we split the roles evenly making sure that everybody in our business had a say. This differs from The Apprentice because, as a group we prioritised teamwork over personal gain.

Miss Watkins, Enterprise and Innovation Co-ordinator at NHEHS said she was thrilled to see so many students in Year 9 participating in the 10X Challenge this year. The teams demonstrated true entrepreneurial spirit, alongside other important capabilities such as problem-solving, financial and digital skills. It was also fantastic to be able to run a live Enterprise Fair with both the 10X and Tycoon teams.

Year 9 students who enjoyed the experience will have the opportunity to take part in the Peter Jones Foundation Tycoon Enterprise Competition in Year 12 as well as applying to be Enterprise Reps and taking part in the GDST Diploma in Business, Leadership and Enterprise!