Felpham pupil’s unique business ideas reach national finals of Premier League Challenge

Teachers spoke of their pride as their students made the finals of a National Premier League challenge.
The team proposing their business idea to the judging panelThe team proposing their business idea to the judging panel
The team proposing their business idea to the judging panel

Year Nine students from Felpham Community College (FCC) attended the finals of the Premier League Enterprise Challenge on Monday, March 18, in central London.

Students Rudy Garrigoux, Chloe Juniper, Tiffany Millis and Jessica Stemp had spent many months of planning and researching to produce business plans that carried them to the very top.

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Last November, the team competed in the first round of the competition, held at Brighton and Hove Albion, tasked with coming up with an idea of how the club could encourage young people to go to the stadium’s matches.

After much discussion, the team came up with the idea to host an event on the beach with music, food outlets, the chance to train and meet the players, a loyalty card which would give members discounts and the chance to win free match tickets.

The idea proved successful and the Felpham team won the first heat of the competition, leading them on to the next stage, which was held in January, again hosted at Brighton and Hove Albion.

Throughout December and January, further research and development was carried out by the team to prepare a business plan which then made them winners of the regional finals. The FCC winning team then went on to the national finals in central London, where they competed against teams representing Stoke City, Blackpool, Queens Park Rangers, Swansea and Newcastle United football clubs. All teams then presented their final business idea to a panel of judges, including Theo Paphitis from Dragon’s Den.

After a day of great efforts Stoke City won the finals.

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Mrs Woodman, careers leader at Felpham Community College, said: “Out of over 12,000 students who entered, our winning team made it through to the final 25. Everyone who took part was extremely professional. Our team were driven, the questions they were asked in the finals were really difficult and they did an outstanding job, which we are really proud of them for.”

Since the partnership began, more than 35,000 participants have been engaged across the nation.

The winning team said: “The Premier League Enterprise programme is a course we completed about resilience, communication, team work and financial capability, all skills we will need as we get older.”