Livery School Entrepreneurs Challenge 2026

On Monday, two of our Sixth Form students – Waseem and David – were chosen by the Skinners’ Academies Trust to attend the Livery School Entrepreneurs Challenge 2026 for their dedication to Entrepreneurship and willingness to work hard as a team. Below is an account of their day:

‘On Monday, a group of Skinners’ Trust students had the exciting opportunity to attend the Livery Schools Entrepreneurs Challenge 2026, where we took part in a hands-on entrepreneurial challenge.

When we arrived, we were given name tags and directed to the room where the event was taking place, where we met the rest of our teammates. The day began with inspiring talks from two entrepreneurs, who shared their experiences of running businesses and gave us valuable advice about innovation, decision-making, and leadership.

After the talks, we were introduced to the main challenge of the day. Working in teams, we had to run our own mobile phone company through a business simulation. The activity was divided into four quarters, with new challenges introduced each round. As the day progressed, we had to make important decisions about marketing, staffing, promotion strategies, and product range. We also had to design our phones by choosing features such as camera quality, storage, battery life, and charging time.

By the end of the fourth quarter, our team had achieved over £1 million in revenue and approximately £250,000 in profit, achieving fifth place overall. The experience was both exciting and challenging, and it gave us a real insight into the decisions and pressures involved in running a successful business.

Overall, it was a fantastic experience that linked closely with what we learn in BTEC Business, helping us see how business concepts work in real life. We would definitely take part again if given the opportunity and would highly recommend it to other students.

We would also like to say a big thank you to Mrs Hollingbery for accompanying us and supporting us throughout the day. ‘