We're proud to have supported a Dragons Den style Social Enterprise Schools event last week.
Students from five Sunderland schools showcased their creativity, confidence and community spirit at a Dragon’s Den-style event delivered in partnership with Gentoo.
Held at Sunderland’s City Hall, the Social Enterprise Schools showcase brought together young people from across the city to pitch social enterprise ideas designed to tackle issues affecting their communities.
Delivered in partnership with Gentoo, Sunderland City Council, Together for Children and the Social Enterprise Academy (SEA), the event celebrated creativity, community spirit and young people's ambition to make a difference.
Over recent weeks, colleagues from Gentoo and Sunderland City Council have worked alongside students as mentors, helping them develop their ideas, strengthen their business plans and prepare for the final pitch.
Through the programme, pupils have built confidence, teamwork, communication and leadership skills while exploring social issues they are passionate about.
The student-led social enterprises included projects focused on mental health, sustainability, tackling social isolation, supporting children and young people, and celebrating individuality.
These included:
- Sandhill View Academy - Smile
Smile focuses on men's mental health. The team sells sweets with uplifting messages and second-hand books wrapped in brown paper, promoting the idea of not judging a book by its cover and challenging stereotypes around men's mental health. They work closely with Space North East, which supports and raises awareness of men's mental health.
- Red House Academy - Cheery Charms
Cheery Charms supports young people with exam stress while encouraging better recycling in school. Students sell charms with positive affirmations and use the income to fund new recycling bins for every classroom, supporting Sunderland's sustainability goals.
- Christ's College Sunderland - Sunwell Bridge
Sunwell Bridge tackles hunger, poverty, cultural marginalisation and social isolation through a community hub. The project provides a safe space, brings people together and offers healthy, sustainable food alongside targeted events for minority groups. It is funded through a student-created book of poems and stories about Sunderland.
- Hetton Academy - Calm Corner
Calm Corner aims to improve the life chances of the children and young people they seek to support by creating a sensory space within their academy. The initiative helps boost attendance, inclusivity and attainment by giving students a safe space to regulate their emotions using Calm Corner passes.
- The Link School - Be Proud To Be Different
Be Proud To Be Different promotes celebrating individuality and building confidence. Students create and sell storybooks that highlight the value of being different, with proceeds going to the Bradley Lowery Foundation to support children with serious illnesses.
Following a series of impressive pitches, students took part in a market-style showcase where they sold products and promoted their causes. The event gave sponsors, partners and local businesses the opportunity to meet the young entrepreneurs and see their ideas in action.
A panel of local “Dragons” judged the event, including Stephen Flounders, Executive Director of Regulatory & Business Services at Gentoo Group, Kimberley Richardson, Director of Education at Together for Children, David Pattison, Business Investment Manager at Sunderland City Council, and Claire Wayman, Owner of Sunshine Cooperative.
Christ’s College Sunderland’s ‘Sunwell Bridge’ was crowned overall winner, receiving £100 to support their enterprise and the winner’s trophy.
Additional awards were presented to:
- The Link School – Be Proud To Be Different – Outstanding Recognition
- Red House Academy – Cheers Charms – Sustainability Champions
- Hetton Academy – Calm Corner – Most Creative Pitch
- Sandhill View Academy – Smile – Most Developed Enterprise
Stephen Flounders, Executive Director of Regulatory & Business Services at Gentoo said: "It was a real privilege to be part of this year's Dragon's Den. The standard across all of the schools was brilliant, and the ideas were thoughtful, creative and rooted in real issues young people care about. What stood out most was the confidence and passion the students showed, along with the skills they've developed along the way, from teamwork and communication to problem solving and leadership. Increasing employability and helping young people build skills and ambition is a key priority for us at Gentoo. Opportunities like this give them the chance to step outside the classroom, grow in confidence and realise what they're capable of. It's inspiring to see."
Together for Children's Director of Education, Kimberley Richardson took on the role of 'Dragon' during the event, helping choose winning schools. Kimberley said: "It was incredibly inspiring to see the passion, creativity and confidence shown by all of the young people involved. Programmes like this not only support pupils to make a positive difference in their communities but also help them develop essential skills for their future education and careers. Every student who took part should be extremely proud of what they've achieved."
And Holly Old, a teacher from Sandhill School added: "The Social Enterprise School programme has been a great success for students in Sandhill View Academy. As a teacher, I wanted to lead on the programme as I had hopes it would help grow students' ambitions, transferrable skills and empathy.
"At first, students were unsure about giving up so much of their free time however I now have students knocking on my door every day asking for a social enterprise meeting in order to discuss growing our business more and making more money for our chosen charity - Space North East!
"The event on Tuesday was a great success, and students had a great sense of pride after delivering their presentation and selling the product they'd worked so hard on at their stall. The opportunity to be taught through first-hand experience has been priceless for these pupils and given them such a sense of achievement which I can see developing their growth mindset. The team at Social Enterprise Academy have been fantastic in giving support to our school with lots of workshops with local business owners and professionals - it has really been a privilege to be a part of."
