5th March 2012
 A girls’ school where the pupils are directors of seven on-site businesses has welcomed a new competition to encourage girls to think like entrepreneurs.
Moreton Hall, a Shropshire based girls’ school, has a long history of inspiring young women to get hands-on business experience. Moreton Enterprises is run entirely by sixth form students and turns over approximately £50,000 per year.
Twenty five years ago girls at Moreton Hall decided to re-open the local British Rail train station and take on the running of the ticket office. That particular venture is no longer a school concern, but the experience left its mark and today school sixth formers run seven retail outlets on site, including a Ryman’s stationery store and a branch of Barclays Bank. Key directorships are passed annually from one Year 12 group to the next under the watchful eye of the school’s head of business studies. Parents and friends of the school who work in business are encouraged to mentor the girls, many of whom go on to carve successful business careers.
The school has also helped a local comprehensive school to establish their own version of Moreton Enterprises.
New business ideas are developing all the time. This year the school’s enterprising sixth formers are in discussion with Peter Jones Academy graduate and BBC Young Apprentice contestant, Emma Walker, about a new venture.
Moreton Hall is a member of the Girls’ Schools Association, which has just launched a new competition to encourage schoolgirls across the UK to take more calculated risks and ‘think like an entrepreneur’.
“This competition is great idea,” says Moreton Hall Principal Jonathan Forster. “We all know that single sex environments encourage girls to be less risk averse, but a nationwide business competition will take things to a new level for both the girls and the participating schools.”
The competition, Ahead of the Game, is spearheaded by Girls’ Schools Association president Louise Robinson and sponsored by The Royal Bank of Scotland, Research in Motion and Smart Study Ltd.
It will involve over 150 fourteen year old (Year 10) girls from girls’ schools around the UK and comes fast on the heels of research published in the February edition of the Economic Journal which concludes that girls who experience a single-sex education are more inclined to take economic risks than girls from co-ed schools.
Girls’ Schools Association president Louise Robinson – who is also head of Merchant Taylors’ Girls’ School - believes that learning to think like an entrepreneur is about much more than becoming a successful businesswoman. She says:
“Girls’ schools excel in giving girls the confidence to take calculated risks and make difficult decisions which is why you find that so many female high flyers were educated in all-girls’ schools. When girls learn to do this, it becomes easier for them to aim high in other areas of their life and have the confidence to pursue possibilities they may otherwise have overlooked or thought beyond them. We hope this competition will galvanise a new wave of entrepreneurship throughout our schools and we’re delighted to have both Claire Young and our sponsors on board to enthuse the girls and give them practical advice and ideas about how to develop their business ideas.”
The Ahead of the Game competition will take place between now and the final in December, encouraging girls to work on building their businesses over a sustained period of time. At one of four initial enterprise days in March entrants must pitch for funding and one of 10 places in the second round. Businesswoman and social enterprise champion Claire Young will get things off to an inspiring start with presentations full of tips and ideas. The former finalist on the BBC’s Apprentice show says:
“In an increasingly competitive job market it essential for students to gain much valued enterprise skills. The UK desperately needs to increase its percentage of women in business and initiatives like 'Ahead of the Game' will help to create the next generation of female entrepreneurs.”
Girls’ schools are no stranger to encouraging calculated risk-taking and entrepreneurship. They have long advocated the freedom from stereotypes that a single sex environment can deliver, enabling girls to explore ideas, pursue interests and develop self-confidence without the pressure that the presence of boys can bring.
New research published in the February edition of the Economic Journal appears to back this, concluding that “girls are more likely to choose risky outcomes when assigned to all-girl groups.”
At Wakefield Girls’ High School, pupils are already reaping the benefits of enterprise competitions designed to encourage them to be more entrepreneurial and less averse to taking risks. The school has hosted the final of their WGHS Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition which they launched last autumn. In a full day of pitches and presentations, key stage 3 students from six Yorkshire schools competed for the title and a substantial business support package..
For more information:
Moreton Hall School
GSA
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