AR Accountants play 'Dragons Den' with Year 1 pupils at Warmsworth Primary School

Back in late June 2010 Doncaster Chamber threw down the gauntlet and asked for local businesses to help Warmsworth Primary School  pupils with their Summer Term ‘Enterprise’ project.

The Year 1 project was based on designing, making and selling gardening gifts at the Warmsworth Gala on Saturday 10th July.  Our job was to listen to the children’s ideas and decide whether or not we thought they were worthy of our investment and if so, to lend them £1.00 each which would be paid back after the Gala had taken place.

Alan and Amanda arrived at the school to be faced by 60 children aged 5 and 6, all very eager to explain, with help from their teachers what they had planned to do to make money at the Gala.  They had decided to sell plants from seeds they would grow in the school garden and then  plant into ‘unusual containers’  which they had decorated, such as wellington boots, buckets, mugs and bowls to name a few.  Any profit they made would be used to buy items of their choice for the school.

How could we refuse!  So we invested the requested £60 which they very carefully counted out and promised to pay us back after the Gala.

Later in the month we received an email from the school outlining the children’s success (which was spectacular) and we were invited back to the school to have our investment repaid to us – no interest was charged!  

Their enthusiasm, confidence, knowledge of profit and understanding of money was outstanding considering their age and they were all a credit to the school.  It was a privilege to help the young entrepreneurs of the future and we have pledged our further support in the years to come.