TALENT was is rich supply at Bucks New University last week, where Wycombe’s budding student entrepreneurs took part in a competition, writes Mariam Ifran.

After months of hard work, students, judges, local businesspeople, and even some VIPs came together to celebrate the Company of the Year awards for Young Enterprise on Friday, May 5.

The annual competition saw eight schools from the area take place with ten teams fighting to represent High Wycombe in the regional finals of the Young Enterprise competition

Hosted by Bucks New University, the night gave youngsters the opportunity to present their work in hopes of being crowned.

All participants had to create a fully-fledged business – complete from concept to profitability. Ideas included upcycled gifts and eco-friendly sleep accessories.

Presentations were kickstarted by Super Caddy, a team from Bucks College special educational needs class whose business focused on gift caddy sets. They won the third-place while second place was awarded to Princes Risborough for their gift company, Impressioned.

There could only be one winner however, and success was on the cards for Piper’s Corner, who impressed judges with their business: Seedlings. Their company offered seeds and recipe ideas to encourage customers to grow their own ingredients. The team impressed judges with their professional-standard website.

Teams shared their experiences throughout the project – from coming up with the concept all the way to selling their products at events such as a Wycombe Wanderers matchday and Marlow late night shopping.

Young Enterprise is a national charity which aims to help students across a range of age groups learn and understand business, alongside essential life and work skills. In order to do this, they organise a wide range of workshops and competitions.

The program was supported by local businesses including Wycombe Wanderers SET, BNU and Seymour Taylor & Wycombe.