The new term may just be starting, but last term’s Year 8 students at Allenbourn Middle School in Wimborne have reason to look back with great pride at their achievements at the school’s annual Mini Enterprise Fair. At the end of the summer term, all those in the senior year were hard at work making, baking, designing and sewing. The resulting products, ranging from gorgeous lip balm to scrummy cupcakes, via keyrings and cushions, were then sold to fellow pupils, staff, family and friends.
“The standard just gets higher each year,” said head of technology Lorraine March. “We encourage the children to look at their projects like mini businesses. Some work on their own, some in pairs or groups, and they have to design, plan, cost and then make their ideas. They also have to present their business plan and prototype product to a panel of governors, who act like the dragons in Dragons’ Den. That can be a bit scary, but is all part of the process.”
