Avonbourne Sixth Form - "The Heart of Insurance " Mission Statement Idea Wins National Award

Bournemouth students following in the path of Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones have shown their heartfelt business plan is no flash in the pan. The four young entrepreneurs from the Avonbourne Peter Jones Enterprise Academy have won a national ‘Flash’ Challenge as part of their Peter Jones Foundation Enterprise and Entrepreneurship course. Students across the country were challenged to come up with a new mission statement for a business or organisation.

And Josh, Sarra, Lydia and Sarvish chose ‘The Heart of Insurance’ for one of the country’s leading insurance companies and major local employer, Liverpool Victoria (LV=). Underpinning that statement were key recommendations from the teenagers on how LV= can increase customer satisfaction and improve employee engagement. Their mock-up website design, mission statement and recommended objectives so wowed judges that they won the overall national prize.

Avonbourne’s Director of Sixth Form, Kathryn Loughnan, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that our students have won their first ever Flash Challenge. “These challenges are set by Peter Jones, and other business leaders, throughout the academic year for students that attend his academies across the country.

"In September Avonbourne Sixth Form became the first college in the south of England to become a Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and it’s amazing that only a few short months later we’ve already won our first national award.” Bill Muirhead, Director of Programmes at The Peter Jones Foundation, said: “The students of Avonbourne Peter Jones Enterprise Academy truly deserved to win this challenge with a proposition that showed great creativity, digital aptitude and business acumen.”

Underpinning the students’ bid was a real heartfelt human story. One of the students, Josh, was inspired by his own story when three years ago he helped to deliver his triplet brothers.

Josh said: “My experience has shown me to always expect the unexpected – you just never know what is going to happen in life. “That’s why we chose an insurance company because insurance is vital to help protect you when those unexpected moments in life happen. “Often these moments can have huge impact on people’s lives and our mission statement for LV= is all about putting people first.”

As a Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, Avonbourne Sixth Form offers tailored courses that have been developed by the Dragons’ Den star in partnership with Pearson (Edexcel), the UK’s largest educational awarding body. In addition to the regular Flash Challenges, each student receives a risk-free loan as part of the Tycoon competition, to help with the start-up business costs.

Students can also participate in the Peter Jones National Entrepreneur of the Year competition and receive three years of continued support into higher education, employment or starting a business once they graduate. The winner of the Peter Jones National Entrepreneur Year competition will receive an investment of up to £5,000 to help them grow their business.

Avonbourne Trust CEO, Debbie Godfrey-Phaure, said: “As a business and enterprise academy we encourage an entrepreneurial outlook and prepare our students for a future in work right from the outset of their education. “This journey now culminates in our sixth form, with the opportunity to take business courses that have been specially designed by one of the country’s most successful entrepreneurs. “We are very proud to be a part of this and delighted that our first Peter Jones’ students are already enjoying national success.”