Peter Jones CBE names Badminton School Girls as winners of National Enterprise Competition

A team of six girls from Badminton School in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, have been announced by Peter Jones CBE as the winners of the nationwide Tycoon £1k Enterprise Competition, as well as Overall Winner for the whole Tycoon Enterprise Competition.

The competition, run by the Peter Jones Foundation, challenges students across the country to create a social enterprise idea that addresses a social or environmental issue. In response, the winning Badminton School team founded “The Citrus Way”; a company that manufactures and sells an environmentally friendly cleaning solution, produced entirely by themselves, from food waste including orange and lemon peel. The Team of Year 11 girls were responsible for creating a business plan in order to borrow a £337.00 start-up loan from the Foundation, before developing, marketing and selling their product at numerous events throughout the year.

Shortlisting of businesses began at the start of the summer and The Citrus Way were one of only five teams from 491 to make the final list in their category. The shortlisted businesses were assessed by a panel of business experts and the Bristol-based team were announced this year’s winners of both the £1k category and the competition as a whole. The Peter Jones Foundation, whose Founder and Chairman is successful entrepreneur Peter Jones CBE, stated in his congratulatory letter to the Team: “The students should be incredibly proud of this achievement and of displaying such a high degree of enterprise across all eight capabilities”.

The Citrus Way Team, none of whom had studied business before, said this about their journey: “We didn’t just learn more about the world of business, but we also learnt a lot about ourselves and how each of us can contribute to the business with our unique skills and talents. When we come together as a team The Citrus Way goes from “just a business” to an extraordinary movement. Our journey taught us that no work comes without challenges and solving them is what makes the experience enjoyable.”

Mrs Tear, Headmistress at Badminton School, comments: “I applaud The Citrus Way Team for this outstanding achievement. Their tenacity and willingness to develop their ideas, as well as the business and enterprise talent that they have shown in abundance throughout this journey, is inspiring to witness. Enterprise is an activity that is developing strongly at Badminton and the Team’s win has certainly fuelled everyone’s interest even further.”