Entrepreneurship Finalists Visit London Businesses

Every year, students from across the Aldridge Academies take part in the global movement, Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW).

As part of GEW 2019 the Foundation launched a challenge for all Aldridge schools to “explore new ways to live healthily in school and in your local community” giving students the chance to develop their enterprise and entrepreneurship schools whilst facing a real-life business challenge.

Second place in the competition went to BACA's DDAA team – Demolish Depression and Abolish Anxiety. BACA students Molly, Gina and Michaela’s plan centred around mental health issues. Teams from PACA scooped the first and third prizes.

You can read more about the top three teams’ entries here.

On Tuesday 11 February the Aldridge Foundation and competition judge Paddy Willis, CEO and co-founder of Grocery Accelerator,  organised a trip for the winning team and two runners up to Sustainable Ventures. The London-based company operate venture funds and run Europe’s latest shared workspace for innovative young companies that are looking to change the world through sustainable enterprise.

The students were surprised by the look and feel of the pared-back, industrial co-working space, many saying that they could see themselves working somewhere like that in the future. They enjoyed a tour of the building and meeting some of the Sustainable Ventures team as well as a range of founders who are running businesses within the workspace.

One of the aims of the trip was to inspire the students to continue developing their business ideas and give them the opportunity to meet people who can impart advice, wisdom and learning from having turned their own idea into a business opportunity. The trip certainly had the desired effect, as one of the students commented: “I think that taking our idea further – with the help of teachers – would be a realistic possibility.”

Following their visit, students were treated to lunch at a restaurant along the Southbank before a visit to London Dungeons!