This year, several Year 13 Business Studies groups have taken part in the Young Enterprise Scheme.

The Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) is an opportunity for students to unleash their inner entrepreneur and experience the start-up world first-hand. It's an experiential programme where students set up and run a real business over the whole year. There are challenges throughout the year that earn each business group points, and the top groups for each region then go through to the Regional Finals to compete for a place at the National Finals.The Canterbury Regional Awards for YES were held at the end of October, and Te Puna Wai O Waipapa - Hagley College had two groups that were in the running for awards.

For Earth have been making and selling dog treats made from fruit and vegetables with surface-level damage and defects, run by company directors Mariella Howard and Natalie Berie. For Earth were nominated for the Environmental Sustainability award.

Amoria have been making and selling a hydrating and versatile skincare elixir, designed to soothe and nourish your skin, run by company directors Stella Archer, Lilly Anderson, Ruby Comfort, and Danny Jones Gerstein. Amoria placed in the top 10 groups for Canterbury and their CEO, Stella Archer, pitched to a panel of six judges to try and earn a place at the National Finals.

The Regional Awards evening was a celebration of student success throughout Canterbury, and our groups from Hagley did incredibly well. Early on in the evening, For Earth were delighted to win the Enviromental Sustainability award, which was presented to them by Environment Canterbury. The last (and most coveted) award of the evening was the Regional Final winners. Due to the size of our region, two groups from Canterbury won this award, and Amoria was over the moon when they were announced as one of the two Regional Final winners. This means that in early December Stella and Lilly will be going to Wellington, along with the other top 20 groups from around NZ, for the National Awards. We wish Amoria all the best at this event, and a big congratulations to all our YES groups who have done so well over the past year.