Sligo students win national award
Fifth and Sixth class pupils from Corballa National School in Co Sligo, who won the Top Team award for their classroom business, Know When To Sow, as part of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme 2024. The proud pupils are pictured with SNA Ms Finneran. Picture: Brian Farrell
Fifth and Sixth class pupils at Corballa National School in West Sligo have received the Go Green Award for their Junior Entrepreneur Programme (JEP) business Know When To Sow in the All-Island JEP Awards.
The project was one of just 12 category winners out of 200 projects submitted. The Go Green Award celebrates classes that have sustainability at the heart of their JEP project.
When the class decided on the Seed Calendar project, they quickly realised there would be a steep learning curve in researching what to plant and when and how to care for the plants before turning their project into a successful business. They sought advice from local garden centres and worked with North Mayo Heritage Centre, which provided massive support to the budding entrepreneurs. The heritage centre provided advice on herbs, vegetables and flowers and details of when they could be planted. To ensure they were on the right track, the class surveyed customers and researched costs before deciding what they could offer at a competitive price. Designing the calendar, finding suitable images and laying out the information in a calendar format was very challenging.
The class demonstrated impressive sales, marketing and finance skills at each step of the project. They secured advance sales of over €700 to provide seed money, and they came to an agreement with three local businesses to stock the seed calendars. They also sold advertising space on the calendar to boost their income. Know When to Sow proved to be a very profitable venture for the young entrepreneurs, netting a profit of €1,000.
Marie Lynch, the co-founder and Managing Director of the JEP, said that over 12,000 Irish primary school children have launched classroom businesses this year as part of their participation in the programme. Leveraging their combined talents and innate creativity with the skills they develop on the programme, they work together as a class to create original products and launch a real business from the classroom.
“JEP has become a rite of passage for children in primary schools before they move on to secondary school.
“The class develops a lasting bond by working together to experience real-world success. For many, it is the highlight of their primary school years”, she added.
