'Dragons' Den' finale for The Big Deal
More than 20 teams of school pupils from the Yorkshire region competed to win a trip to New York in the Dragons' Den-style final of this year’s Big Deal enterprise competition.
The winning team from Roundhay School – Alex Drake, Cameron Hine, Shamel Hok and Bhavanjot Singh Rehal – was mentored by Varun Kumar from Barclays. The boys said their product ‘HiLo’, a shoe with a very clever collapsible heel, was aimed at business women who wish to look professional in the office environment in high heels without the discomfort of travelling to and from work in heels. The prototype of the versatile shoe wowed the judges, as did the team’s impressive grasp of business acumen.
The students have worked incredibly hard this year showing determination and tenacity
Michelle Hughes
The competing teams of students aged 13-15 were mentored by business professionals from multinational companies including Barclays, Google and Wickes.
The Ron Cooke Hub, situated on Heslington East, provided the venue for the exciting final. The large Atrium’s innovative work spaces were used by the students to rehearse their presentations before they pitched their ideas to the ‘Dragons’.
The students presented such strong ideas that the judges brought four teams through to the final. The other teams to reach the final were:
- Wander Wellies from the Morley Academy, mentored by Matt Long of Saatchi and Saatchi. The team designed a range of wellingtons for festival-goers with innovative, integral pockets providing wearers with a place to keep valuables.
- Bus Buzzer, also from Morley Academy and mentored by Alexander Forbes of Barclays. The team developed a smart phone application using GPS on buses to alert the user when their bus is due to arrive, preventing the irritation of missing a bus.
- Roundhay School’s Brightspark. Mentored by Daniel Wallis of Barclays, the team invented a bench with a rotatable seat allowing the bench to be used when it has been raining.
The judges commented on the high standard of presentation skills of all the finalists.
The Big Deal competition is run by the Excellence Hub for Yorkshire and Humber and education charity Brightside, in partnership with the University of York. The enterprise project works with students from less advantaged backgrounds in order to inspire and engage them about careers in business.
Michelle Hughes, the Programme Coordinator, said: “The students have worked incredibly hard this year showing determination and tenacity; hopefully the students will go on to use this experience in their future careers. The competition could not take place without the mentors who give up their time to coach the students. It is wonderful to see how grateful the students are to their mentors and the difference it makes to them. The students who take part next year will have to work exceptionally hard to keep the standard which has been set by these students.”
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