Boys show their business skills in the ‘Boars’ Den’

Boys took steps into the world of business and enterprise when they entered the ‘Boars’ Den’ at Tonbridge School.

One team of Year 10 boys from each House made a pitch and explained their proposals to a panel comprising of staff and Sixth Formers, including the Head of School, in a format inspired by the Dragons’ Den TV programme. 

The judges considered the originality of the boys’ ideas, the soundness of their business proposals and the all-round professionalism of the presentations. 

Josie McNeil, the school’s Lower Master, who arranged the Boars’ Den contest, said: “I was really impressed with the standard of the pitches, which combined entrepreneurial start-up ideas with concerns for social responsibility and the environment. Their business plans were subjected to rigorous scrutiny from the ‘Boars’ and boys also had to think on their feet and work as a team. 

“They learned that being an entrepreneur means a lot of hard work, but they met the challenge with enthusiasm and determination.”       

The three winning teams were each awarded a share of the £500 prize money, in order to make their business ideas a reality. Boys from Hillside House invented a popcorn machine; the Welldon House team created light-up decorative bottles, and School House boys are planning to set up a school-wide Fifa football gaming competition.

Close contenders were Park House with a specially developed sports jacket, Parkside with a tie being sold for the Child Action Lanka charity, and Cowdrey House with a Child Action Lanka badge, all of which were also highly rated by the panel.