Thurso High School team win Young Enterprise Scotland Company of the Year award

A TEAM from Thurso High School has achieved "a phenomenal accomplishment" by winning the Young Enterprise Scotland Company of the Year award in Glasgow.

The pupils – Simone Paul, Ashleigh Coghill, Amy Lowe and Rachel Pearson – represented the Highlands and Islands and Moray at the finals this week and beat other teams from across Scotland to take the top accolade.

The Caithness pupils, who were mentored by Thurso High's business studies teacher Lucy Bremner and Trudy Morris, the chief executive of Caithness Chamber of Commerce, said they were "immensely proud" to have won the award.

The Social-Eyes team designed an innovative scavenger hunt bingo game to be played by children while travelling. The game has been a resounding success and the team has secured retail outlets across the north Highlands.

Ms Morris said: "We are incredibly proud of everything the Social-Eyes team have achieved. From the start the team have worked exceptionally hard and shown fantastic entrepreneurial spirit and creativity. Going on to win Scottish Company of the Year at the finals this week is a phenomenal accomplishment, and we are over the moon to celebrate their success.

"The team have developed a fantastic product and the Young Enterprise judging panel were clearly impressed by their ingenuity, highlighted by awards for both innovation and creativity alongside other accolades."

She added: "Through our work at the Chamber and Developing Young Workforce North Highland, I have been personally been involved with Young Enterprise for the last 10 years. Initiatives and programmes such as this are invaluable in developing and enhancing young people’s employability skills and boosting their confidence. It is wonderful to see the positive impact these real-world experiences have on the young people who take part.

"High praise must also be given to the team’s mentor and Business Studies Teacher, Lucy Bremner who has been a dedicated supporter of Young Enterprise teams for many years and whose commitment has helped to inspire and motivate many young people throughout her career."

Mrs Bremner said: "I am thrilled that the team’s brilliant efforts have been recognised at the Scottish Finals. They have worked very hard throughout the year to bring their product to fruition and been truly enterprising in overcoming adversity. It has been a privilege to support them thus far and I am so excited for what the future holds for them and Social-Eyes. Congratulations also to the other teams who took part and thanks to Young Enterprise for providing this opportunity for our young people. I am very passionate about the benefits of enterprise in education and the skills and experience this provides for pupils."

The team's managing director, Ashleigh Coghill, said: "Social-Eyes has been on an incredible journey, and we are immensely proud of ourselves. To see our game, designed primarily for Caithnessian children, resonate with people across the nation has been so rewarding. We are ready to see where the next steps take us."

The awards were held at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on Wednesday night as part of a three-day Festival of Youth Enterprise.

Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.