The Worshipful Mayor and Mayoress of Bournemouth, Cllr Dr Rodney Cooper and Mrs Elaine Cooper with the young Optimum team, Gregg Turner, Tom Wilcox, Luke Calkin and MD Edward Hatfield (4th from right), Luke Bell, Charles Warr, Caroline Kurtulan (far right)
The youngest school team to enter the 2014 Enterprise and Skills Enterprise Challenge sponsored by Bournemouth University, was honoured at the prestigious awards ceremony held at Bournemouth’s Premier Inn. The team from the Bishop Of Winchester Academy, comprising of six pupils from years 8 and 9 who competed against 10 older teams from schools in the area, received two accolades.
Edward Hatfield, who was the Managing Director of the pupil’s company named Optimum, tasked with creating products to market and sell over the six months of the competition, received the Leadership Award for leading a team of peers through the setting up and running of a new company. The Optimum company also received the award for Best Brand image.
Caroline Kurtulan, the Bishop of Winchester’s Head of 6th Form and Co-ordinator of Enterprise and Innovation, said that the team, which sold a variety of products, had enjoyed working with local businesses to develop their understanding of the world of work, the employability skills required by employers and the essential enterprising qualities needed by young people today to remain competitive in the workplace.
“We would like to praise and thank the Enterprise and Skills Company and the Bournemouth University for running the fantastic competition and the support and encouragement they given to the 120 students who took part,” said Caroline Kurtulan.
