WESTMEATH STUDENTS SET FOR NATIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP FINAL
Pictured above: Most Enterprising School – Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan
Local Enterprise Office Westmeath have announced the winning teenage entrepreneurs that will represent Westmeath at this year’s Student Enterprise Programme National Finals on Wednesday 18th May. The Finals return to a physical event this year at The Helix in Dublin having been held online in 2020 and 2021.
The students all took part in the Westmeath Final on 11th March, which was held at the Golden Island Shopping Centre, Athlone. An estimated 160 students from 9 schools took part in the annual programme locally.
The enterprise education initiative, funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and delivered by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities throughout the country, saw over 24,000 students from just under 500 secondary schools across the country take part in 2020 / 2021. The programme supports students to create, design and market their own business, all with the hope of reaching the National Finals.
In the Junior Category, the students representing Westmeath at the National Finals are: Hannah Higgins, Katie Creggy, Erin Roche, Muireann Lowry from ‘Decorapage’ at Moate Community School.
Pictured above – left to right – Pat Gallagher, CE of Westmeath County Council, Christine Charlton Head of Enterprise, Hannah Higgins, Katie Creggy, Erin Roche, Muireann Lowry, Moate Secondary School, David Quirke, Wholesome Kitchen, Tracey Tallon LEO Westmeath and Brendan Gearon, Drakemount Ltd
In the Senior Category of the competition, Westmeath will be represented on May 18th by Summer Feery, Lauren O'Reilly from ‘Framed It’ at Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan.
Pictured above – Left to Right – Christine Charlton, Head of Enterprise, Catherine Darby SEP Co-ordinator LEO Westmeath, Pat Gallagher CE of Westmeath County Council, Summer Feery, Lauren O'Reilly Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan, Brendan Gearon, Drakemount Ltd & David Quirke, Wholesome Kitchen
SPECIAL GUESTS
Special guests at the Westmeath Final included Pat Gallagher, Chief Executive of Westmeath County Council and our judges David Quirke, Wholesome Kitchen, Mullingar, Brendan Gearon, Drakemount Ltd. and Tracey Tallon Senior Enterprise Development Officer, LEO Westmeath.
Speaking at the county final, Catherine Darby, Business Advisor of Local Enterprise Office Westmeath congratulated the students, saying “We have a very successful student enterprise programme here in Westmeath, with over 400 students from 9 local schools taking part this year. Our national finalists are excellent ambassadors for the programme, and we wish them the very best of luck on Friday 18th, and we will all hope to be there to support them. In what has been a particularly challenging couple of years for students the programme has offered them an outlet outside of the usual school demands. What our students are learning from the programme is that with the right supports and encouragement, they can take an idea from the classroom and develop it into a real-life business. The skills they learn along the way, such as business planning, market research, selling and team-work, will help them become more entrepreneurial throughout their future careers”.
The local students will be competing against hundreds of other student entrepreneurs from all over Ireland at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals, taking place at the Helix in Dublin on the 18th May.
Since the Student Enterprise Programme began in 2003, over 300,000 students have taken part, learning key skills on how to create a business idea, start a business and grow a business. The Student Enterprise Programme also has new range of online resources for 2021 / 2022 at www.StudentEnterprise.ie, which will feature regular blogs and houses a full range of Student Enterprise resources for students and teachers.
Names of participating schools in Student Enterprise Programme
Marist College
Our Lady's Bower
Loreto College
Wilson's Hospital School
Athlone Community College
Castlepollard Community School
Moate Community School
The winners in the Junior Category are:
1st Prize: Decorapage - Moate Community School
2nd Prize: Growing Green - Moate Community School
3rd Prize: Delicate Designs - Moate Community School
The winners in the Senior Category are:
1st Prize: Framed It - Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan
2nd Prize: Ringz & Tingz, Loreto
3rd Prize: Shambalm - Mercy Secondary School, Kilbeggan
MOST INNOVATIVE PRODUCT: Hand Painted Wooden Logs, Rochfortbridge Secondary School
BEST DISPLAY: Brown Bag Bees, Athlone Community College
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