Press Gang: Forest Gate pupils win Dragons’ Den style business pitch award

Pupils from George Green's Secondary School (Image: Archant)

St Angela’s Ursuline School in Forest Gate was the victor in the head-to-head with five east London schools, presenting ideas for a new product for the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to a panel of experts.

Pupils from St Paul's Trust School (Image: Archant)

The winner was announced on December 2 at the awards ceremony to conclude the Legacy Careers Project, which

aims to provide 12 to 14-year-old students with the information and confidence to plan and manage their future careers.

The schools, which also include George Green’s Secondary School and St Paul’s Way Trust School in Tower Hamlets, took part in a five-day workshop of activities since May of this year, which included the Dragon’s Den style pitching session.

The top “business teams” from the schools went on to compete with the other schools in the final of the Project’s Big Challenge.

The winning team from St Angela’s, called the Eager Divas, pitched their Change4Life Adventure Playground to cut down childhood obesity and get families into the Olympic Park to stay fit and healthy.

The judges voted unanimously for the proposal and praised the students’ presentation skills and for pitching the most sustainable project.

The teams from George Green’s, called Chubby Cobras, pitched a supermarket that would raise money to help under-developed countries, and the Aspire team from St Paul’s Way Trust proposed a health centre for families.

The Legacy Careers Project is run by the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) which looks after the Olympic Park.

Dennis Hone, chief executive of the LLDC, said it hoped to support students to learn the skills and techniques to help them become the workforce of the future in east London.

He added: “Following this successful project we will continue our work with schools to help raise aspirations and inspire extraordinary careers.”