Ranelagh school children come face to face with dragons

It is tough out there in the commercial world, as children from Ranelagh Primary School discovered recently in a mock up of popular TV programme "Dragon's Den".

The 10 and 11 year old pupils came face to face with a team of "dragons" whose job it was to assess their business ideas. The team of dragons was made up of deputy head Daniel Jones, admin assistant, Val Haugh and Lizzie Love-Mott, soft furnishings, gifts and lighting manager of Glasswells store. They judged their money-making ideas on the basis of originality, presentation, awareness of competition and money-making potential.

Each team was given a notional £25 to spend with a view to making a return on the investment. Ideas ranged from making cakes and biscuits to healthy drinks and cards.

Three teams were given their funding with the promise that others could re-apply when they had made suitable adjustments to their business plan.

Lizzie Love-Mott, who works at the nearby Glasswells home furnishings store, said that the children had all learned a valuable lesson in business.

"A good idea is the starting point," she said. "But we looked for evidence that they had thought through managing their money, marketing their product and their strategies for supply and demand. The standard was extremely high, and the children clearly had a lot of fun developing their ideas too."

The new Glasswells home furnishings store is immediately adjacent to the school and the two have built up a strong relationship over the last few months. Staff from the showroom regularly visit and offer practical advice and support. A programme of activities is in place for the coming months.

February 2009.

Back to News