Enterprise Challenge success

Local youngsters bound for the capital following Sunderland triumph

After triumphing in the semi-finals at Sunderland’s Stadium of Light stadium last week, Bolton Wanderers’ representatives in the Enterprise Challenge will now compete at the national finals in London next month.

The annual tournament, which was launched at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season, looks at challenging young children with a real-life business task relevant to football.

This year the challenge has focussed on trying to develop revenue streams from international markets – in particular Africa and the United States.

Having to pitch their proposals to a panel of judges, Bolton’s team, featuring Westhoughton High School pupils Imergen Howarth, Scott Stenton, Rachel Connor, Jay Whittle, Connor Bowling and Marelle Morley, have worked closely with the football club to produce a fan club app which targets people from the home towns of the first-team players Medo Kamara, Stuart Holden and Tim Ream.

While also having to present their ideas to the competition’s judges at each stage of the competition, the team also got to make their pitch to Bolton Wanderers first team manager Dougie Freedman earlier this month as well members of his backroom staff and first team players. 

Speaking about the group’s project, Bolton Wanderers Education and Awareness Officer Paul Makinson said: “The kids have worked really hard to make this actual app which has near enough gone live, so the judges can have a play with it. They’ve all really enjoyed it and have been a great bunch to work with.

“They’ve developed communications and confidence skills at every stage of the competition. As well as having to present their ideas to the judges and in front of an audience, developing their business plan has also aided their basic literacy and numeracy skills, and will hopefully help them with their GCSEs and give them extra-belief in themselves to achieve.

“Hopefully they do well. What we’ve seen from the semi-final was that no-one else took a mascot up there to engage with the audience, which is what these kids did and the presentation itself is great. 

“They’ve used PowerPoint well to supplement their ideas, so hopefully we’ll walk away with the title of Enterprise Champions.”
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