Dunoon reach Hampden business finals
YOUNG entrepreneurs from Dunoon Grammar School will represent Argyll and Bute in the Scottish final of this year’s Young Enterprise Scotland (YES) Awards.
The Dunoon pupils battled it out against Lochgilphead High School to win a coveted place in the final.
The awards are based on the work S5 and S6 pupils have undertaken over the past 12 months as part of the YES Company Programme – a scheme which sees the youngsters setting up and running their own company.
The area final was sponsored by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and took place at the Loch Fyne Hotel in Inveraray. The winning team, Up Town Junk, was formed by 12 students from Dunoon Grammar School and produced upcycled products from a range of materials.
Little Mug Co, run by five students from Lochgilphead High School, created hand-painted mugs with a unique design.
The judges faced with the difficult task of picking one winner were Donald Melville, business adviser with Business Gateway, and Lynn Shaw, assistant manager, Bank of Scotland.
In addition to the overall Company of the Year Award, Up Town Junk also won the Best Report award, while the Little Mug Co won both the Best Trade Stand and Best Presentation awards.
Up Town Junk will now go forward to represent the region at the Scottish finals in Hampden Park in June.
Jane Macleod, chair of Developing the Young Workforce and YES local team member, added: ‘The programme ensures that young people learn about teamwork, cooperation, profit and loss, success and failure, and various interpersonal skills.
‘This year we had two excellent companies in the form of Up Town Junk and Little Mug Co, and I am surprised that the two judges were able to choose between such excellent enterprises.’