SIXTH form students from six Worcestershire schools battled it out in a competition designed to test their entrepreneurial skills.

Youngsters from Worcester Sixth Form College’s Young Enterprise team, Athena, were crowned the overall winners at the Young Enterprise Spring Trade Fair.

They also won an award for the best product for My Amego, a children’s toy designed to help children express their feelings and reduce stress.

Twelve teams were tasked with selling products, which they had previously created, to passers-by on Worcester’s High Street.

The teams set up a limited company, allocated roles and responsibilities within their business and sold shares to friends and family.

Teams then developed a prototype product which they market-tested before selling the final creation at the fair.

A panel of judges was made up of Ian Smith, portfolio risk officer at HSBC; Dionne Oliver, innovation senior consultant at QinetiQ and Ray Gillespie from Worcester Web Studios, who assessed the team’s use of digital technology.

Also among the winners was Team Puzzle from Malvern St. James Girls School, who won best display for the use of hand-written signs to create a really strong display which the judges thought looked professional.

While Team Logic MigTea from Kings School Worcester were awarded best brand image after developing a strong brand reflected across their stand, website, business cards and packaging.

Paul Moult, chairman of Youth Enterprise South Worcestershire, said: “I’ve attended the Spring Fair for 20 successive years and the ingenuity, creativity and hard work of the students never fails to disappoint. Considering six months ago they had minimal business knowledge, now they have formed a company, sold shares, designed and made a product, and here they are selling to the public in the middle of Worcester.

“This year I was particularly impressed with how students utilised digital platforms to promote and sell their products.” 

Mayor of Worcester, Cllr Jabba Riaz, presented awards to the winners. 

He said:  “As a previous Young Enterprise participant myself, I can vouch for the important role this programme plays in developing young people’s self-confidence. They start to believe that they have the skills to run a business – and that it isn’t just something which other people do. The quality of this year’s entries was extremely good, but the winners clearly stood out because the thought, effort and knowledge behind their product was exceptional.”

The final took place on Saturday, March 9.