Peter Jones

Dragon’s Den Star Peter Jones CBE Crowns Year 11 Students For This Year’s National Enterprise Competition For Schoolchildren

Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones CBE crowns IT equipment hire service Lease 2 Learn as this year’s winners of his national enterprise competition for schoolchildren – Tycoon in Schools.

The team of six students all in Year 11, from Westborough High School in Dewsbury, won £1,000 for their business during a ceremony held at Buckingham Palace, hosted by HRH The Duke of York.

Peter Jones
The HRH Duke of York and Dragon’s Den star Peter Jones CBE addressing the winners at Buckingham Palace.

Lease 2 Learn was also given £280 start-up loan by the Peter Jones Foundation to launch their idea in October, which gives everyone access to technology to help them succeed.

They aim to create a level playing field after research revealed that over a third of students, at their school, did not have access to a computer or laptop at home.

The team was selected by a panel of judges for having the highest profit ratio of 1,839% during an intensive trading period throughout November and December last year.

Tycoon in Schools encourages young people to get involved in business by giving them a start-up loan to start a business whilst at school or college.

This year’s competition, which for the first time expanded into primary schools, had over 2,000 student applicants from across the UK.

Blue Bowtique, a team of eight primary school children from Barnby Road Academy in Newark, were runners up after achieving a 1,544% profit ratio for their business – making and selling hair bows to the local community. 

Lukman Patel, ‎Director of Learning Business & Ethics at Westborough High School, said: “We’re honoured to be the winners of Tycoon in Schools 2016 – and incredibly proud of how hard our students worked to get here. It’s really important to educate children about running a business, and Peter Jones’ Tycoon in Schools has provided a fantastic and inspirational experience for the Lease 2 Learn team.”

Peter Jones CBE said: “Lease 2 Learn really stood out amidst the competition. The team blew me away with their professionalism – and most importantly, their business idea to support other students’ from their school.”

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