Year 5 pupils at Bradford Grammar Junior School recently embarked on an exhilarating journey, hosting their own stationery stalls. Ben H, Emaad K and Abdullah I, shared their experiences describing it as ‘exciting, inspiring and unusual’.
As part of their PSHE Enterprise Module, on Monday 11 March, the children took charge and hosted a fantastic stationery sale. From funding and planning to hosting, they were responsible for every aspect of their stalls.
During the preparation for the event, pupils engaged in an exciting game that taught them about investing. Ben said: “I learnt how to make a profit and that sometimes in business you have to make risky decisions”. The children found the game to be their favourite part of the experience, along with calculating profits and, of course, selling!
Equipped with the necessary knowledge to kickstart their venture, Ben, Emaad and Abdullah wrote a persuasive letter to Junior School Headmaster, Mr Ribeiro. They requested a £150 loan to fund their stall, explaining that the higher amount was necessary due to inflation prices. Additionally, they were loaned £30 in change from the Finance Department, which they returned at the end of their project.
After receiving a letter of approval from Mr Ribeiro, the pupils were ready for the hard work to begin. The trio carefully considered which products to sell, taking into account safety and market demand. Once they assembled their bulk-bought items, they set up their stall hoping to gain a profit. To their amazement, they earned over £40 on just one product, the infinity pencil, in the first two sessions. Clearly, their product research had paid off!
This success led to strategy. As the third session approached, the pupils decided to remove the star product from the stall, allowing other products to shine and maximise their profits. Ben defined this adaptation as a ‘change in their business plan to benefit the other products’.
Reflecting on their experience, Emaad described the journey as exciting, offering them a glimpse into running a business. He added how he felt like a ‘mini businessman’. Ben found his time running the stall inspiring for the future and potentially owning his own business. Whilst it may have inspired some of our Year 5 pupils to run their own business, Abdullah is thinking about being a scientist, describing how the event was unusual from what the pupils typically learn about. His peers suggested he could establish his own science shop.
From their efforts, the pupils managed to raise a profit of £117.38, which they donated to the children’s charity, Make-A-Wish Foundation, exemplifying their commitment to giving back to the community.
“I learnt how to make a profit and that sometimes in business you have to make risky decisions”.
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