Staff and students at the Cann Bridge School are celebrating an historic achievement after being crowned the overall national winners of the Tycoon 1k Key Stage 3 and 4 category of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition 2024
- Historic Achievement: Cann Bridge School was crowned the overall national winner in the Tycoon 1k Key Stage 3 & 4 category of the 2024 Tycoon Enterprise Competition.
- Mainstream Recognition: Originally entered in the SEN category, the school was elevated to the mainstream competition due to the exceptional quality of its business plan, defeating over 200 entries.
- Winning Business Venture: Sensory Explorers designed and sold sensory products tailored to the needs of parents, carers, businesses, and schools based on market research.
- National Recognition: The team presented their project to over 250 guests at a London awards ceremony, including entrepreneur Peter Jones.
- Financial Success: The project generated over £2,000 in profit, reinvested into creating sensory outdoor learning spaces at the school.
The competition, which challenges learners aged six to 18-years-old to launch their own businesses, saw the Cann Bridge School‘s innovative venture Sensory Explorers stand out in a remarkable way, surpassing expectations and taking home the top prize in a highly competitive field.
Although Cann Bridge School entered the Special Educational Needs (SEN) category, the judges were so impressed by the quality and scope of the learners’ business plan that they moved them into the mainstream Key Stage 3 & 4 category, where they emerged victorious over more than 200 entries.
The remarkable achievement highlights the school’s commitment to providing its learners with opportunities to develop vital enterprise and life skills. At the awards ceremony held in London the learners had the opportunity to showcase their business to an audience of over 250 special guests including entrepreneur Peter Jones.
The learners not only developed a range of sensory products but also used order forms, pop-up stalls and events to sell their creations, applying practical skills in areas such as English, Maths, IT, and Design Technology, while also enhancing their teamwork, entrepreneurship, and employability skills.
Lee Fisher, class teacher at Cann Bridge School and project lead for Sensory Explorers, said:
“We’re incredibly proud of what our learners have achieved. Their hard work, creativity, and determination really shone through. Winning this national award is an outstanding accomplishment, but equally important is the opportunity our learners had to apply real-world skills, from business planning to presenting to an audience.”
Cann Bridge School has long been dedicated to providing applied enterprise learning opportunities, with a well-embedded curriculum that includes an internal café run by learners for the school community, as well as work-related learning in the wider community.
The focus on practical learning is key to the school’s vision of preparing learners for future independence and success.
The Sensory Explorers venture was also a financial success, generating over £2,000 in profit, which the learners themselves chose to reinvest into creating sensory outdoor learning spaces for each classroom at Cann Bridge. This initiative will further enhance the school’s commitment to providing an enriching learning environment for all learners.
This year marks the fourth time that a team from Cann Bridge School has made it to the national finals of the Tycoon Enterprise Competition. In previous years, the school.s teams have consistently performed well, with a post-16 team finishing as runners-up in 2014, another group of 14 to 16-year-olds reaching a second place spot in 2016, and a team emerging as winners of their age category in 2018.
