Timeline
The School Enterprise Challenge is open to any school in any country.
Schools can register for free and make it work for their own calendar.
Schools can register for free and make it work for their own calendar.
The timeline below will help you to plan your participation in a way that suits YOU!
Please note this is a suggested timeline to give you an idea of how long each step takes.
You do not need to follow this timeline exactly. Make it work for you!
Submission dates
Participants can submit any completed template (Business Idea, Business Plan or Annual Report) at any of the following submission dates:
Tuesday 23rd May 2023
Wednesday 23rd August 2023
Thursday 23rd November 2023
All submissions received by Thursday 23rd November 2023 will be reviewed in early 2024 to determine eligibility for Award Level Certificates and prizes.
How to make it work for you
Here are 4 top tips for teachers taking part in the School Enterprise Challenge:
Tip 1: Get to know the educational materials
We encourage teachers to register their school and familiarise themselves with the content of the educational materials before gathering the team of students. It's always good to know what to expect before you start!
Tip 2: Get support from your colleagues
We recommend having permission from your school management before registering and having at least one other teacher who could support you with running the School Enterprise Challenge at your school. Involving more teachers makes it easier to manage the programme and adds to the richness of the experience!
Tip 3: Plan your participation
Look at your school calendar, think about when your school holidays and exam periods are, and plan accordingly!
Tip 4: Get up and running quickly
Step 1 (coming up with a Business Idea) and Step 2 (creating a Business Plan) can be done quite quickly. In fact, many teams complete the first two steps in under two months. The quicker you complete these first two steps, the sooner you can take on Step 3 (launching and running the business and completing an Annual Report) which is the most fun part of the programme and also the section where the most learning and skills acquisition happens!
What if our school has to close because of COVID?
Sadly, the Coronavirus continues to disrupt schools in many countries around the world. Nonetheless, the School Enterprise Challenge is open in 2023. We encourage each school to participate in a way that works for them. If your school is forced to close because of COVID you can either run your business 'remotely' (business meetings over Zoom, online sales, etc.) or you can pause your participation and resume once your school has re-opened. You can see examples and find inspiration from schools that have successfully adapted their businesses during COVID here.
Please note that the safety of our participants is always our number one priority. Therefore we would like to remind you that you should ALWAYS carry out business activities in a way that is safe for your team members (students and teachers). In particular, please make sure to always adhere to guidance from your local authorities and the World Health Organisation (such as wearing face masks and keeping social distancing for example). You can read our full statement on COVID safety here.
