MHA Moore and Smalley backs budding entrepreneurs

Year 4 children at St Bedes Academy were given an opportunity to explore their entrepreneurial skills with the help of chartered accountants and business advisers MHA Moore and Smalley.

MHA Moore and Smalley has donated £600, allowing the children to put their enterprising skills to the test and experience first-hand the challenges involved with running a small business.

The ‘Young Entrepreneurs Printing Project’ has seen the children’s ideas come to light as they’ve now purchased, installed and tested printing equipment in school, much to their delight.

Andrew Lawson, who is co-ordinating the project and is music specialist at the academy said: ‘’Not only does the project help to develop the children’s critical thinking skills, but using real life scenarios helps the pupils engage with their learning and gives it purpose beyond the school gates.

One accusation often made on the modern education system is that it prepares children for taking tests and not for life after school. By teaching using real life scenarios, pupils get to apply what they know to a meaningful, non-abstract situation. This gives their learning purpose, which in turn helps with pupil’s knowledge retention and develops their problem-solving skills.  More importantly than this, however, is that it makes them enthusiastic and active learners.’’

Nicola Mason, corporate senior manager at MHA Moore and Smalley added: ‘’Projects like this are an excellent way of introducing children to business and inspiring our next generation of entrepreneurs.

The academy has some fantastic young business brains and hopefully the project will give these children a knowledge of business practice, not to mention a taste for success!

It really was a pleasure to lend our support to such a worthwhile project.”

The second stage of the project will see the pupils develop ideas for the designs of their products, and participate in conducting market research with their target customers.

St Bede Academy is a Church of England Academy located in the Morris Green area of Bolton.