A group of Year 10 pupils from Bolton School Girls' Division has won the Bolton Overall Best Company Award for Young Enterprise.  The students set themselves up as their own company called Instinct, creating and printing a child’s educational storybook. 

The pupils have been busy marketing their proposition around primary and nursery schools in the area.  They have projected profits of over £5,000 and have already raised £2,000 from other ventures to cover the cost of the printing.  The judging panel was made up of managers from Warburtons, Keoghs Solicitors and Harrison Lubrication Engineering Ltd.  They were so impressed by the girls' effort that the team also won the Innovation Award.  The Year 10 team progresses to the Greater Manchester Strategic final in May.

Another team from the Girls’ Division, Hoot Hoodies, made up of Year 12 students, won three awards: best presentation, best report and one of their team members, Roshni Patel, won the Young Achiever Award.  They have sold personalised hoodies, in and out of school, and have already amassed a profit of £1,500 with a further £300 of outstanding orders.

Mrs Rixon, their teacher, commented: "I am delighted with how both teams equipped themselves.  The girls have shown great business acumen - coming up with some great ideas, composing some well thought-out business strategies and, most importantly, delivering on those plans.  This is our best year since I have been involved."

Postscript: 7 May 2008

The Year 10 girls were placed 3rd out of the 10 finalists in the Greater Manchester Strategic final.  They won one of the four prizes up for grabs - the ICT Award.  Mrs Rixon said: "They did amazingly well for their age and the judges deemed their presentation 'fabulous'.  They beat several Sixth Form teams and the two teams that came first and second were both made up of Sixth Form students."