A GROUP of students from the Isle of Man have been showcasing their enterprise skills at a competition in Oslo.

Cahoots, a team of sixth form students from Castle Rushen High School, competed against 33 other nations for the title of Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Student Company of the Year.

They took their stationary vending machine idea, with the slogan 'Don't lend it, vend it', to compete in the international final after winning the Junior Achievement Isle of Man Company of the Year which was held in March.

Group members Grace Costain, Katie Gilson, Ruby Callister, Sarah Reeday and Katie Danes, came up with the idea after conducting research which showed that 89 per cent of students have gone to school at some point without the necessary equipment to carry out their lessons.

Sue Cook, chief executive of Junior Achievement, said: "Cahoots have worked extremely hard and I was privileged to be able to watch them during the competition. I felt extremely proud to be part of their journey and they have demonstrated what young people can achieve if given the encouragement to flourish."

A team from the UK who designed a perfume pen won the overall competition but Cahoot's team member Katie Danes was awarded a place on a leadership conference in Munich next year after being identified as having the potential to become a future leader.

This academic year Junior Achievement ran 150 classes in 18 schools in the Isle of Man reaching more than 4,000 children. If you would like to become a volunteer business mentor, or help raise funds, please contact Sue on 01624 666266 or by e-mailing suecook@jaiom.im.

Picture caption: L to R – Grace Costain, Katie Gilson, Ruby Callister, Sarah Reeday and Katie Danes. Pictured with volunteer business mentor Judith Craine and Kirsty Coffey from Isle of Man Junior Achievement. 

Also see: What an achievement – Castle Rushen team voted company of the year