Fir Vale pupils scoop prize trip to Hong Kong in Enterprise Competition

Six students from Fir Vale School have scooped the top prize in an annual enterprise competition organised by Sheffield City Council.

 

A group of six friends – Kelvin Atiase, Sinthujan Arulselvam, Luke Korley, Husnain Mehmood, Jago Reed-Jones, Barney Thomas – won the Big Challenge Competition 2010 and won the trip of a lifetime to Hong Kong sponsored by legal services provider, DLA Piper.

 

The students who set up and ran events company ‘Young money’, demonstrated profit, growth and a good understanding of their business at the judging panel and report writing stage.

 

Fourteen teams from schools and colleges across Sheffield made it through to the finals from 340 teams that entered back in October. Winning schools and colleges included: Fir Vale, Notre Dame, Stocksbridge, Norton College, Sheffield City College, Westfield, Bradfield, Newfield, King Edward VII and Meadowhead,

 

Claire Young from television show ‘The Apprentice’ presented the awards at The Holiday Inn in Sheffield.

 

Cameron Craig, Partner at DLA Piper in Sheffield, said:

 

“I want to congratulate Young Money from Fir Vale School on their outstanding efforts. Hong Kong is the ideal destination for the competition winners because it has one of the most embedded entrepreneurial cultures of any established economy and demonstrates a real ‘can do’ attitude. Our colleagues in Hong Kong are currently putting the finishing touches to the trip itinerary; we know that the students will be visiting the Senior Court of Appeal and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which will be very busy and vibrant. They will also do some business challenges and, after a hard day’s work, they will be given a tour of the Victoria Harbour on a private yacht.”

 

Barney Thomas from the Young Money said of the experience:

 

“We are so pleased to have won. We faced real business issues when we set up our business, like finding enough finance to develop our business. Dealing with this taught us how to deal with problems, like many businesses that are struggling to get investment in the credit crunch. The night of the gig was absolutely amazing; it went far beyond our expectations. When we saw how much money we’d made it triggered something in our minds. We started thinking how we could use this money to make more and how we could develop our business. This competition has been a great experience and we can’t wait to visit Hong Kong.”

 

The BiG Challenge 2010 has been sponsored by DLA Piper, Sheffield Enterprise Agency, The Holiday Inn and South Yorkshire Investment Fund. The BiG Challenge is part of Sheffield City Council’s enterprise programme aimed at increasing entrepreneurship across Sheffield.