Plantsbrook Dragons Den stars: Inventive students from Plantsbrook School stepped into the Dragon’s Den when they pitched their business idea to judges at the finals of a national competition.
Back in March, 40 Year 9 students at the school, which is part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust, took part in a day of workshops, as part of the National Careers Challenge organised by Birmingham City University.
Hosted by the Inspirational Learning Group, the workshops set pupils the challenge of coming up with a product which they could potentially bring to market, including ideas over marketing, design and production.
The winning idea on the day was from Team Taskmaster – made up of pupils Mikey, Melissa, Anya, Laura and Josiah – who pitched an innovative watch design, which could support people with mental health issues.
And on Wednesday, July 5th, Team Taskmaster reassembled to take part in the National Finals at the ICC in Birmingham, along with more than 100 other teams from around the country.
Plantsbrook Dragons Den stars prepared for weeks
In the run-up to the big day, the team spent a month perfecting their product, working with Plantsbrook Careers Advisor, Sarah Dullea, to make sure their three-and-a-half-minute pitch to the judges would be perfect.
Mrs Dullea said: “We are so proud of how well this team of talented students did at such a big event.
“To put it in perspective, 40,000 students took part in the workshop days across the UK, so to be one of the teams invited to the final really was a huge achievement.
“On the day, they had to make a pitch that covered the financial aspects of their idea, talk about promotion and marketing, outline their target market and show evidence of using emerging trends.
“Team Taskmaster presented their idea to a panel of three judges and did Plantsbrook proud! They were so confident, the pitch was fantastic and they got great feedback, with judges saying ‘they covered everything’.”
Only eight teams were selected to go on the main stage in the afternoon for the final of finals – two from each year group – and sadly Taskmaster were not chosen.
Mrs Dullea added: “The students had a great time watching the events with the host, magician and YouTube sensation Ben Hanlin, guest speaker Rob Law MBE, Founder of “Trunki”, and enjoyed entertainment from ukulele player and singer Abigail Carter-Simpson, who was a semi-finalist in this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.
“The students all had a fantastic day. It was an awesome achievement and something I’m sure they will always remember.”