7 Dragons Dens take place in and outside of London

In April and May, the team in England hosted 7 Dragons’ Dens in and outside of London. It was a privilege to hear young people from all key stages pitch their social enterprise projects. The calibre of all pitches, their engagement with Social Enterprise Schools, and their understanding of social enterprise was high, a real testament to our wonderful team of Education Facilitators.

On the Dragons’ Dens, Matt Nicol, Head of Programme Development, said:

“We were blown away by the calibre of thinking across the Dragons’ Dens, in which young people presented thoughtful and impact social enterprise ideas responding to some of society’s most pressing issues. It made all the Local Authorities we work with feel more optimistic about our future and the next generation of leaders we are nurturing.” 

Social enterprise ideas included Millennium Primary School’s ‘cookazine’ that tackles deforestation, The Heathland School’s celebratory cards that support local food banks, St Wilfrid’s multiple social enterprises tackling issues from the cost-of-living-crisis to upcycling clothing, Beam County Primary School’s handmade health-kit which supports the homeless community, Archbishop Tenison’s School Libertas group tackling the legacy of colonialism, and Sanders Draper School’s multiple social enterprises tackling issues from period poverty to food waste.

A massive congratulations to our young people and teachers at the winning schools:

• Go for Green at St Wilfrid’s School (West Sussex) 
• Grove Road Primary School (Hounslow) 
• Timbercroft Primary School (Greenwich)
• Southgate School (Enfield)
• Becontree Primary School (B&D)
• Daily Discretions Sanders Draper School (Havering)
• Elm Court School (Lambeth)

A big thank you to West Sussex County Council, London Borough of Hounslow, London Borough of Greenwich, Enfield Council & Nexus Enfield, Havering Council, Lambeth Council & Lambeth Made, for supporting our delivery and volunteering dragons. And a special thanks to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund for making Soc Ent Schools possible in Barking & Dagenham.

We would also like to thank our partners, Cirrus Logic, SAP, and Artemis Investment Management, for volunteering dragons and for giving young people the opportunity of running their own social enterprise. 

Find out more about Social Enterprise Schools in England here