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On Tuesday 14 March, the Piazza outside Westminster Cathedral was filled with excitement. Selected students in Years 7 to 12 from Westminster City School had a fantastic opportunity to put their business and enterprise skills into practise, and successfully sold numerous products to the public.

Each group were given a budget to purchase different stocks to either resell or craft into products to sell at the market on the day. The groups involved also received sessions on sustainable business planning beforehand and were tasked with creating a business plan for the day.

The students involved were very appreciative of the opportunity and shared how they benefitted from the experience. The team who formed ‘Jet Accessories’ commented about the day saying:

“We are so happy that Ms Adams gave us this exceptional opportunity. It was an enjoyable experience and we were able to sell all of our items which included power banks (£15), iPhone chargers (£5) and AirPods cases (£7). As a team, we worked together very well and took turns to speak to people before they approached our stall so that we didn’t miss an opportunity to sell an item.

“It was nice for us to also meet the Lord Mayor for Westminster City Council who was friendly and approachable. He supported our business and bought a power bank and a charger.”

The team who formed ‘Shop Direct’ shared their appreciation stating:

“Our personalised water bottles sold out quickly and people really seemed to like our ideas. One incredibly lucky encounter was when a man came and donated five pounds which meant a lot to us and the charity that it was being donated to which is Cardinal Foundation Charity.

“Thank you to Ms Adams and the ‘Pitch Ready’ team for allowing us to experience what it is like to run a business and make a profit.

“Planning this event was extremely hard due to the fact that our competitor ‘Jet Accessories’ were selling similar products which meant that we had to change our business idea.  Despite the fact that we had little time to achieve all that we needed to do as part of the planning process, we came together as a team and overcame the challenges in order to create Shop Direct."

Overall, the event was a successful one which enabled these students to learn new skills. The team at ‘Stationery for life’ said that they learnt “how to be noteworthy sales people and reach out to potential customers to notify them of the benefits of buying" our products."

"Additionally, our communications skills developed tremendously as it was essential for us to speak to customers with clarity and confidence.”

All proceeds will be donated to a charity and a prize will be given to the team that made the most profit on the day.