Wicklow Montessori Primary School pupils with Dragons Susan Fox, Deirdre O’Callaghan and Jeff Byrne.
The pupils held a showcase day for ‘Are We There Yet?’ In Fitzwilliam Square, Wicklow town.
This year the fifth and sixth class pupils from Wicklow Montessori Primary School created a business from scratch and made a profit from travel entertainment kits that they designed and produced in their classroom.
‘Are We There Yet?’ was set up as part of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP).
Every child in the class got an opportunity to put forward their own idea, and a shortlist of six projects was selected. The pupils faced a panel of ‘Dragons’, which included local businesswomen and men, Susan Fox of Eden Beauty Group, Deirdre O’ Callaghan of Johnson’s Caravan Park and Jeff Byrne of Jefferson Tax. The Dragons helped the class to choose the ‘big idea’ for their class business.
‘The Are We There Yet?’ business worked just like a real start-up and as part of JEP, the children identified their strengths in various areas through a series of games before breaking into five teams focusing on finance, design and production, sales, marketing and technology and communications.
The pupils carried out market research to learn more about their target customers. Pupils, teachers and family members were surveyed on their preferences on various aspects of the kits, including pricing and the items to include.
Each pupil invested €10 in the business and they also received a loan from the school Board of Management to buy the materials needed to start production. The class produced posters to promote the kits in the school and in the local community in Wicklow.
The entire class needed to roll up their sleeves for the final production push. The travel entertainment kits were launched at a public showcase day on May 10, where pupils were delighted with the response to their products from members of the local community. They have officially sold out of all kits and the profit made will be donated to The Down Syndrome Centre in Sandyford.