STUDENTS from South Craven School, Cross Hills, were crowned 'best overall company' at the West Yorkshire Young Enterprise regional final.

The final - held digitally this year instead of in person due to the Covid-19 pandemic -celebrated the achievements of students who have set up and run a company over the academic year as part of the Young Enterprise Company Programme, supported nationally by HSBC UK.

The winning team from South Craven went on to represent West Yorkshire at the Young Enterprise Final yesterday, (Wednesday) but unfortunately did not get through to the final stages.

Young Enterprise is a national charity which works to equip young people with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to succeed in the changing world of work.

Its vision is that every young person is given an equal opportunity to learn the vital skills needed to earn and look after their money, to develop an enterprising mindset and make a valuable contribution to their communities and wider society.

This year, students across the country have set up companies over the academic year, making all the decisions about their business, from deciding the company name and product, to creating a business plan, managing their finances and selling their products – despite challenging conditions due to Covid-19.

The South Craven team created and sold scented candles with a mental health awareness theme, branded Wick’d Candles.

One of the team, Phoebe Rollins, said: “We were so delighted to win the regional finals. Due to Covid-19, communication was becoming increasingly difficult, as we couldn’t have face to face meetings, but we have learnt so much about business in the real world, and it’s been an amazing experience to look back on”.

Sharon Davies, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise, said: “Reaching the company programme West Yorkshire final represents an inspirational journey with many months of hard work, teamwork, creativity and resilience; congratulations South Craven. The experience and skills students from every team will have developed will stay with them for many years to come and will make a tangible difference to their futures. Students have shown particular resilience this year by continuing with their product development and sales despite school closures”.

Ian Stuart, HSBC UK chief executive, said: “As businesses large and small are facing new and unprecedented challenges to meet the needs of their customers and wider stakeholders, it’s more important than ever that we support and nurture young, innovative entrepreneurs across Britain.

"The resilience and leadership shown by year’s cohort of company programme finalists is inspiring, and we look forward to their continuing success in the months and years to come.”