Pupils hope to come up smelling of roses in business challenge

Perthshire pupils are going head to head to produce the best scent. Morrison’s Academy has launched its first Primary School Enterprise Challenge, which includes more than 200 budding entrepreneurs from schools across the region.

This includes P7 pupils from St Dominic’s RC Primary School, Dunning Primary School, Kilgraston School, Dunblane Primary School and Morrison’s Academy.

The youngsters have been challenged to produce their own perfume or aftershave brand using natural ingredients.

Pupils also must consider every phase of the product’s life, from bottling and packaging to branding, marketing and presenting it as a business venture.

Once finalists have been picked from each school, they will be invited to the grand final event at the Morrison’s Academy campus in Crieff on May 30.

During the day they will be given the ingredients to make their fragrances and hear from a selection of speakers, including Rupinder Drew from the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, with tips and advice on fine tuning their scents.

Pupils will also pitch their business ideas in front of their families and a panel of judges.

To prepare the children, a series of tailored lesson plans developed by the Morrison’s Academy business department have been given to each school.

Craig Roy, head of business and enterprise at Morrison’s Academy, who created the Primary School Enterprise Challenge, said: “We’re absolutely delighted with the response to our new business initiative and have already had fantastic feedback from teachers.

“Pupils are fully engaged in the lessons and are enjoying developing their products from scratch.

“Aligned with the Scottish Government’s aim to foster a nationwide culture of entrepreneurship, pupils at Morrison’s Academy participate in enterprise activities from starting nursery at the age of two until they depart S6.

“It’s very exciting to collaborate with other schools and unite pupils across Scotland so they can develop their problemsolving, teamwork and leadership skills together.”

HEAVEN SCENT: Enterprising pupils from schools across Perthshire are taking part in the Morrison’s Academy event.