The Young Enterprise Company Programme was run this year in school and proved very successful. There were nine Year 13 students who worked together as a group to develop a product that would then be produced, marketed and sold to the public. This year’s company was called ‘On the Bright Side’. The product created was a ‘Positivity Calendar’. The pupils wanted to encourage people to come off their phones and go back to writing down their plans, thoughts and feelings, placing a significant focus on improving mental health.

Each page was individually designed by Faith, a team member, and the quotes on each page were chosen by the team. The pupils travelled to St George’s Market in Belfast where they sold their calendars to the members of the public, interacted with a range of other businesses and got the opportunity to build awareness about the business and their product.

At the Trade Fair in Foyleside Shopping Centre in February, the pupils were determined to impress the judges by their approach to marketing, customer service and knowledge of the finances of the business. A Special Recognition Award was presented to the pupils for their hard work and success on the day. The team also sold the calendars at the School Show and Open Night. This proved a huge success for the business with the business breaking even at an early stage in the year.

Following on from their success Zoe Kershaw, who was the Finance Director for the business, was nominated for ‘Young Business Person of the Year’ at the North West Business Awards in June 2023. Zoe then placed as a runner-up at the black tie event which had taken place in the City Hotel, Derry. As well as this, Zoe also received the ‘Young Enterprise NI Journey Award 2023’ for her work within the business on the finances and how they were meticulously calculated. Well done, Zoe!