Enterprise at Lincoln Castle Academy

Since our involvement with the fantastic Dragons’ Den Goes Back to School project I have had a number of enquiries interested in how we deliver enterprise education at Lincoln Castle Academy. I thought this blog would act as a good summary - if you would like to find out more, just ask!

At Lincoln Castle Academy we are tremendously proud of our strong Business and Enterprise ethos our students experience. As a former Business & Enterprise Specialist College we offer a rich and varied Enterprise Education provided to all our students. The three main strands of Enterprise Education – Enterprise Capability, Financial Capability and Economic & Business Understanding – are interwoven across the Lincoln Castle Academy Curriculum as well as being specifically met through unique enterprise challenges and whole year group event days.

Students take ownership of their Enterprise skills completing self and peer assessments to appraise their current level of enterprise knowledge. Last year for example, saw students tackle a variety of unique projects including:

1. Achieving the ‘Best Business Idea’ award in the BBC’s Dragons’ Den Goes Back to School project. We were one of only four school selected in the North of England to develop a business idea and present our business plan in front of the stars of Dragons Den!

2. Raising funds for local and national charities. The student enterprise council have donated funds raised through their enterprising activities to a number of deserving recipients including our chosen charity One Water, Twycross Zoo and the Stroke Ward at Lincoln County Hospital.

3. Forming ‘Local Lincoln’ - a Community Interest Company managed by A-Level Media and Business Studies students. Local Lincoln is a Business Directory and Community Magazine which reaches over 6000 homes in North Lincoln. The group have been very successful and their work has been showcased recently in the Independent Newspaper. The students involved also experienced an all expenses paid trip to the Houses of Parliament as a thank you for their hard work.

4, Participating in entrepreneurial events such as Global Entrepreneurship Week, Tenner Tycoon Challenge and holding a ‘Women in Enterprise’ day aimed to inspire Year 10 & 11 students.

5. Designing a marketing campaign as part of a social enterprise selling bottles of water to fund projects in improving the quality of life for people living in less developed countries.

6. We also achieved this year the 2011 SSAT Employer-Education Award for our work with Ruddocks, a local printing firm. Ruddocks have been instrumental in a number of projects and enterprise based activities for a number of years. This partnership was recognised nationally in a ceremony at the Guildhall in London. In April 2011 we also were presented with an award for Schools Partnership - presented by the Lincolnshire and Rutland Skills and Employment Board.

7. Holding an annual Coca Cola Challenge which all Year 9 students undertake. This year saw an extremely high standard of entrants - we are sure even Coca Cola would be impressed!

8. In addition to this Lincoln Castle Academy students are encouraged to participate in numerous extra-curricular activities such as the Lincoln Castle Academy Student Enterprise Council – where student voice plays a key role in the organisation of school enterprise events & provides a strong link with outside businesses and the local community - and the Young Enterprise Company Scheme where students are supported in the setting up and management of their own business models.

9. We are also delivering the BTEC Level 3 course in Understanding Enterprise and Entrepreneurship. This allows students in our post-16 cohort to undertake an exciting and challenging new qualification which will fully prepare them for life as an entrepreneur or as a valued and progressive employee. Students undertake a whole host of enterprising learning activities and reflection - Year 13 students will this year embark on an ‘intrapreneur’ unit which will see them placed in local businesses working on problems and issues. It is this type of real experience which is so vital to developing those must have skills for employability.

The ethos of Lincoln Castle Academy is to be an exciting place to learn and one where students can grow as independent, hard working and capable individuals whereby they can truly “realise their dreams”. Through this early introduction into the world of enterprise and the business environment students leave our school with experience, knowledge and a ‘can-do’ attitude which will give them the confidence to lead successful lives and careers in the future.

We are therefore extremely proud of the talent, commitment and skill Lincoln Castle Academy students consistently show as a result of their Enterprise Education. We are an active member and lead school of the Lincolnshire & Rutland Enterprise Learning Partnership - a body which pulls together schools, Universities, Businesses and other external agencies interested in pushing enterprise education forward for the benefit of young learners. We are spearheading new enterprise delivery ideas working closely with regional and national stakeholders.

It is with no doubt that Enterprise skills encourage students to be independent and confident. Being Enterprising is about being creative, being innovative, working together in teams as well as being able to work independently. For us at Lincoln Castle Academy, Enterprise Education is not so much about teaching: it’s more about teaching students ‘how to learn’.