Preston Manor break ground in Enterprise Challenge final

After starting with 850 young people, 170 schools and 34 football clubs, this year's Premier League Enterprise Challenge will be decided today.

Six teams from academic institutions representing their local football clubs will present to a panel of judges their business ideas on improving attendance at Premier League matches among 18-23-year-olds.

Only one team can be crowned champions but all have done incredibly well to get this far, winning local heats to represent their clubs, then coming through regional playoffs to earn the right to travel to the EY head offices in London for the final.

Business insight

"Honestly, this whole experience has literally taken us in so many different directions," said Ditishah, a Year 10 student at Preston Manor School in Wembley, London, who will be representing Queens Park Rangers in the final.

"It's got me more into the business world and it has changed my perspective of business as a subject.

"Not only as a subject where you do this and that, but the reality of how does this all correspond to each other."

Preston Manor will be taking on Ormiston Meridian Academy (Stoke City), Llangatwg Community School (Swansea City), Joseph Swan Academy (Newcastle United), Baines School (Blackpool) and Felpham Community College (Brighton & Hove Albion) in London.

Since it started in 2008, the Enterprise Challenge has engaged more than 35,000 young people, bringing them closer to the world of business.

More than a quarter have come from black and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds, with more than 1,230 disabled participants.

Learning impact

It has inspired youngsters not only to regard business in a different light, but has had a positive impact on their learning and on the academic institutions themselves.

"They're the first ever from our school to go anywhere to this level; it is ground-breaking for us," said Kwame Kumaning, a Preston Manor business studies teacher, after their regional playoff victory.

"As a teacher I'm just proud of the students we have, I'm proud of the community that we come from."

As for the final, Ditishah is not complacent over Preston Manor's prospects.

"There's always room for feedback, always room for improvement," she said. "But we're going to make sure that it's the best out there."

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