13 November 2007
 Representatives
from 30 Rotherham schools will attend a prestigious
celebration event at the Marriott Hotel on 13th November,
hosted by Rotherham Ready. The event is to recognise
the schools’ achievement of the University
of Warwick Award for Excellence in Enterprise Education
and means that over half the borough’s schools
will have achieved the award.
Rotherham Ready is a ground-breaking education programme which
helps students to develop skills such as financial literacy and
risk awareness, while also providing a productive way for local
employers to get involved with local schools.
The programme is widely acknowledged as leading the way in enterprise
education in the UK and is also attracting international interest.
Through their involvement with Rotherham Ready, the award-winning
schools were able to develop an ‘enterprise agenda’,
making them eligible to apply for the Warwick Award.
Rawmarsh Ashwood Primary was the first school in Rotherham to achieve
the award. They did this by taking part in a week-long enterprise
activity which saw them working in teams to develop small businesses.
Each team organised its own advertising and pricing strategy, and
the Year 6 class developed an understanding of the risks involved
in marketing a product.
Matthew Smith, managing director of quantity surveyor recruitment
company, Dilectus, is a strong supporter of Rotherham Ready and
will speak at the ceremony. He said:
“Business engagement is very important today and I want to help encourage
the confidence that will make these pupils a success in the future.”
“Young people sometimes don’t realise their options but the activities
carried out with Rotherham Ready are more relevant to real life.”
One of the programme’s initiatives includes the recently
launched ‘Make £5 Blossom’ which is introducing
children as young as seven to the concepts and skills behind running
a business. Local companies and organisations loan £150 to
a class which gives each pupil an initial £5 investment to
use to start their own enterprise. The children’s task is
to make their £5 blossom by setting up a business that makes
a profit. The loan is repaid at the end of the project and the
pupils receive awards for the most successful businesses.
Project Officer, Catherine Brentnall said:
“Make £5 Blossom is a positive, feel-good model of business engagement
and so far it has motivated and excited the
children. We have seen a real improvement in self belief.”
“Rotherham Ready is so far ahead of other boroughs and it is making a positive
difference to young people’s futures. In the long term, we hope it will
make the same difference to Rotherham’s economy.”
Rotherham Ready is funded by Yorkshire Forward and involves a large
range of business partners. Enterprise Week (12-18 November 2007)
is an annual UK-wide week of activities and events aimed at inspiring
young people to have ideas and make them happen.
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