BUSINESS savvy students from The University of Chester Academy Northwich (UCAN) have won the top prize in awards celebrating the next generation of enterprising youngsters in West Cheshire.

The ‘UCAN Enterprise Club’ were announced winners of the £500 prize in the local heat of the Young Starship Enterprise Challenge Awards, hosted by Weaver Vale Housing Trust.

The aim of the challenge is to help young people boost their confidence, employability and entrepreneurial skills to prepare them for life after education by encouraging them to develop their own business ideas.

Steve Jennings, chief executive of Weaver Vale Housing Trust, said: “All of the young people who took part in the challenge have worked extremely hard and shown real enthusiasm and team spirit in developing their ideas. The panel was so impressed with the presentations they found it very difficult to pick a winner.”

On February 15, the participating teams from UCAN, the Winsford E-ACT Academy, St Nicholas Catholic High School, Tarporley High School and the Russett School, in Weaverham, all pitched their business plans to an expert panel of judges at the Trust’s headquarters, in Gadbrook Park, who then decided on the winners.

The panel was chaired by Geoff Hope-Terry, former chairman of the Weaver Valley Partnership Board, and also included ‘dragons’ Gillian Edwards, Weaverham parish councillor and regional fundraiser for the North West Air Ambulance, Jason Butler, commercial manager at HSBC and Joelle Warren, executive chairman of Warren Partners and Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Cheshire.

The winning pitch from UCAN was a business producing a ‘handyplanner’ cover for school planners and diaries, which hold essential stationary and include a whiteboard back for making quick notes and writing answers.

“The evening was a celebration of the talent and entrepreneurship of young people from West Cheshire. Everyone who took part should feel very proud of themselves and I hope the experience of this challenge will live with them beyond this evening and prepare them for what I believe will be an exciting future,” said Steve Jennings.

The Young Starship Enterprise Challenge competition is run by the ‘Airport Group’, a partnership of 14 housing associations across the north west and pennine regions, of which the trust is a member.

UCAN’s team will now go through to a regional grand final, where they will pitch against winners from other local areas within the Airport Group’s reach, in front of a new regional panel, for the chance to win £5,000 to develop their business idea.

The grand final will take place at the Airport Group’s annual ‘Young Flyer’ awards, on May 10.