EDGE Entrepreneurs’ Marketplace

On Tuesday lunchtime, the Concourse was buzzing with entrepreneurial excitement as the first Edge Marketplace event took place.

The Edge programme in Third Year is a ten-week course during which our pupils learn the basics of business planning and creation from our resident experts in the Business and Economics department. Working in teams, they take the theory learnt in class and create and market a business using a modest amount of seed capital. Tuesday was the first opportunity for the teams to sell their products to the Caterham community and the range of ideas and innovation were impressive. Our pupil businesses ranged from homemade candles, personalised t-shirts and beeswax wraps through to made-to-order fruit yoghurts and quirky keyboard button covers.

It was remarkable to see the energy and excitement of both sellers and their potential buyers. The pupil businesses have a chance to reflect on their efforts post-event and consider if and how they might develop their ideas. Any profits will be donated to charity at the end of the year, once the full cohort of intrepid entrepreneurs have had their chance to share their ideas with the community.