A team of young entrepreneurs from Altrincham Grammar School for Girls has won the North West Regional Final of the 2016 Enterprise Challenge competition, hosted by KPMG in Manchester.
‘Team Elevate’ beat stiff competition from teams from Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, Ladybridge High School in Bolton, The Hathershaw School in Oldham and Levenshulme High School in Manchester with their idea for alleviating loneliness amongst elderly citizens.
All finalists had already beaten hundreds of students from other schools in the North West to reach the final.
The competing teams pitched their ideas in a Dragons Den-style event to a panel of judges including Dean Rogers Govender, Dean of Manchester, Ahti Arshad, Director at Brooklyn Charles, Paul Heywood, partner at KPMG, and Lord Lieutenant Warren Smith.
Team Elevate will now progress to the Enterprise Challenge Grand Final in London on May 4th where they will compete against winning schools from the West Midlands, South East, Yorkshire, London and Glasgow for the chance to become national champions.
The Team Elevate girls said: “This was an amazing experience which we won’t forget! We can’t wait to represent the North West region at the Grand Final, and hopefully bring home the title!”
Actor and comedian Abdullah Afzal, who hosted the North West Regional Final, said: “All of the teams presented their ideas in a highly professional way and the judges must have had a tough job choosing the winner. I wish Team Elevate the very best of luck for the Grand Final and I hope that they can bring the title back to the North West. Come on you Mancs!”
The Enterprise Challenge is sponsored nationally by Apax Foundation and Qatar Charity UK and supported by Totem Learning. Nael Faragy is the principal regional supporter and the North West Regional Final had local author and restauranteur Helen Tse MBE as guest speaker.
