Students from five Sunderland schools took centre stage at a Dragon’s Den-style event, pitching their innovative social enterprise ideas to a panel of local leaders. The event, delivered in partnership with Gentoo, Prosper, Together for Children, and the Social Enterprise Academy (SEA), celebrated youth-led creativity, community spirit, and entrepreneurial thinking.
The initiative is part of the Social Enterprise Schools programme, which empowers young people to drive social change while developing essential life and work skills. Through this experience, pupils built confidence, teamwork, empathy, and resilience, qualities vital to their future and to the communities they serve.
Over recent weeks, mentors from Gentoo and SEA worked closely with students to shape their ideas and prepare for the big pitch. Along the way, pupils explored the social issues they care about most, while honing their public speaking and business planning skills.
The student-led social enterprises included:
- Hetton Academy – Growing Change
A sustainable garden project promoting wellbeing and learning, rooted in environmental and social issues.
- Thornhill Academy – Me and Home
Raising awareness of homelessness in Sunderland through events and handmade merchandise, supported by the Back on the Map Knit and Natter group.
- Consilium Evolve School – Group 1
Creating and selling polymer clay jewellery, with profits donated to Washington Mind to support mental health services.
- Consilium Evolve School – Group 2
A collaborative art and merchandise initiative celebrating Sunderland’s cultural heritage, with proceeds supporting local charities.
- The Link School – Garden Gang
Selling growing kits made with their own compost and seeds to fund a community garden that promotes wellbeing and biodiversity.
- Oxclose Community Academy – Giggle Garden
Selling joke books to raise funds for a sensory garden, supporting students who benefit from outdoor, tactile learning environments.
Following the impressive pitch presentations at our Head Office, students had the opportunity to bring their ideas to life at a market stall-style showcase, where they sold their products and promoted their causes to colleagues from Gentoo and representatives from Sunderland businesses, who came to support the young entrepreneurs and see their ideas in action.
The panel of local “Dragons” brought a wealth of experience and encouragement to the event. They included Claire Long, Gentoo, Kimberley Richardson, Together for Children, Anita Heskett-Saddington, FISCUS, Steph Capewell from Love, Amelia and Kirsty Dodd from Prosper.
The overall winners were Thornhill Academy, but the Dragons were so impressed they also recognised:
- Hetton Academy for the Best Link to Social Purposes
- Oxclose Community Academy for the Best Product
- Consilium Evolve as Most Entrepreneurial
- The Link School for the Best Teamwork
Claire Long, Non-Executive Director at Gentoo and ‘Dragon’, said: “Community is at the heart of everything. We all come from somewhere, and for us at Gentoo and for all of these children that somewhere is Sunderland. They’ve learned what they’re capable of and how important community is to them, to us, and to the whole city. The presentations, passion and enthusiasm were phenomenal.”
Gloria, a student from Thornhill Academy, shared: “My favourite part about the project is how we’ve been able to come together. I’ve learned that with hard work, determination and the right attitude, we’ll be able to achieve anything we want.”
