STUDENTS from the Highcrest Academy showed their fabulous business drive - by winning a prestigious enterprise award from car giants Hyundai.
Voyagé, a business team formed and run by Year 10 pupils from the academy in Hatters Lane, High Wycombe, won the first Skills for the Future Best Business Enterprise award at an awards evening last week at the Hyundai Motor UK Training Academy in Gordon Road, High Wycombe.
Students had to design their own product based on the Automotive industry and then summarise and present their findings at the ceremony on Friday, June 7.
The Voyagé team created calendars with stickers to remind customers about servicing, MOT, oil and tyre checks. They also created a ‘Top Trumps’ card set featuring 24 Hyundai vehicles, aiming to create a talking point for prospective Hyundai customers.
Voyagé sold 300 calendars and 200 sets of Top Trumps cards to local dealership Platts, and has plans to work with other Hyundai dealerships and motor manufacturers.
Friday’s event saw teams from three Bucks schools present their business ideas, implementation and results to a panel of judges. The team also picked up Best Upper School Year 10, Best Marketing and Best Media Award at the Young Enterprise Area Finals in March.
Liam Gates, 15, MD of Voyagé, said: "We’ve been on quite a journey, which is just what Best Business Enterprise is all about. I think we’ve all learned new skills."
The winning students got a Kindle HD and potential work experience at Hyundai. The other team members were Aisha Aslam, Jodi Mead, Callum Iqbal, Hawa Hanifi, Henna Aslam, Xyla Jacobs, Sanaa Saghir, Khayam Salim, Aiden Vaux and Kiegan Ollivierre-Burr.
The award is part of Skills for the Future, a collaboration programme between Hyundai and Young Enterprise that aims to equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in today’s job market.
The competition's runners-up were Hyundai Hazard, from Holmer Green Senior School, and Colet Car Accessories, from John Colet School. Each team also had at least one business advisor from Hyundai Motor UK and a link teacher to liaise between the students and business advisor.
Tony Whitehorn, CEO of Hyundai Motor UK, said: "The enthusiasm and the business acumen shown by all the students here today has been extremely impressive and I believe all of them have what it takes to become successful entrepreneurs."
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