Year 6’s at St. Anne’s Upper Primary School have, for the second year running, fully embraced the Fiver Challenge programme by Young Enterprise. The young entrepreneurs’ Business Fair took place on Tuesday 12th March in their school hall.

The Fiver Challenge consists of children starting their own businesses with a £5 start-up capital. Children worked in groups of between 3 and 6 children and some teams chose to pool their £5 so they had a larger amount of starting capital.

As part of the challenge children had to think of a potential business idea that they could develop. Children had to then do market research on the viability of the business, including designing questionnaires and surveying members of the general public which they did in Main Street. Children also got to design their own business logos and names, write a business plan, deliver a sales pitch and finally create their own Business Stall for St. Anne’s very own business fair where they would sell their products/ services.

The project saw the children have master-classes with business experts as well as a Young Enterprise team from Gibraltar College called Multisportz who are participating in the current Company Programme.

The Year 6’s have really grown as professionals and the standards have risen with children and teachers taking valuable lessons from last year’s pioneering programme. The pop-up shops were incredibly professional with some teams choosing to wear a specially designed uniform matching their business ideas. Businesses ranged from penalty shoot-outs, to uniquely created perfumes, key-chains, book-marks, jewellery and photo booths.

One team went over and above and called local fruit company Gib-Maroc so that they would supply the fruit for their smoothie pop-up shop. They even managed to convince the company to donate fruit to them in order to increase their profit margins. Another team realised that they could make money between them and offered to be a second team’s supplier, making money even before they went on to the selling event at the St. Anne’s Business fair.

The project has also helped educate children about finances, helping them learn all about investments, profits, losses, taxes etc: Financial education they would otherwise not have received, with the opportunity to use real money funded by the local Young Enterprise branch.

After Tuesday’s selling event, children will be evaluating their journey on the Fiver Challenge where they get the opportunity to reflect on their learning and think about how they will apply lessons learnt to their everyday lives.

The programme ends today, (Friday) with an award ceremony where the following winners will be recognised:

• Most sustainable business
• Best Logo
• Best Business stall
• Most innovative business
• Most inspiring Individual
• Best Sales Pitch
• Best Team

The program introduces children to the fundamental concepts of enterprise, including the role of money in their lives and the importance of becoming critical consumers. Through engaging activities, participants gained insight into concepts such as interest, loans, debt, and taxes, laying the foundation for a sound financial understanding.

One of the highlights of the Fiver Challenge is the opportunity it provides for children to experience the process of starting and developing a business. From researching products to purchasing materials and making sales, participants actively engage in real-world entrepreneurial activities. Collaborating with parents and other classes, the challenge transforms into a practical lesson on achieving goals and generating profits.

Feedback from participants underscores the program's effectiveness in nurturing key skills for future success. The challenge encourages students to generate ideas, persevere in the face of challenges, and learn essential money management skills. Furthermore, the Fiver Challenge fosters teamwork, creativity, and problem-solving abilities in a tangible and real-life experiential learning context.

Head Teacher of the school, Lizanne Andrews, added: “St. Anne’s Upper Primary firmly believes that every child should have the opportunity to cultivate an enterprising mindset and acquire essential money management skills from a young age. The Fiver Challenge serves as a catalyst for this mission by providing children with firsthand experience in entrepreneurship, thereby bringing subject learning to life and fostering the development of enterprise and financial capabilities. The Fiver Challenge has been a great initiative for our students, providing them with invaluable skills that they can carry forward into their future lives."