London-based online school, School Beyond Limitations, has recently hosted a Dragon’s Den style event, designed to give young student entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of seven professional experts from within the wider school community. The event, which saw over 100 students participate from across both senior and sixth form year groups, has been one of the most memorable moments of the school year to date.
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The inspiring event, which showcased a huge variety of polished, raw, bold and creative pitches, saw students of all ages come together in a courageous bid to present their imaginative ideas and demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. Judged by a panel of business owners, senior professionals and entrepreneurs from the parent, staff and alumni community, the three winning businesses included an innovative compact laundry machine with AI capability for washing shoes and trainers, a portable, wearable GPS panic alarm with smartphone connectivity, and a fully foldable treadmill made from 100% recycled materials.
As part of the ongoing campaign, the students behind the winning pitches are being given further mentoring support to professionally launch their ventures as part of the school’s strategic goal to allow children to become creators of their own lives beyond the classroom. During these sessions, the students will have the opportunity to refine their ideas and begin shaping them into real, impactful business ventures, whether that is product analysis, financial planning, marketing or developing a robust business strategy.
Dr Martina Geromin, Co-Founder at School Beyond Limitations explained, “It has been such an incredible event, with stand-out moments of passion, purpose and possibility across the whole school. We have been so impressed by our students creativity, their courage, professionalism and their ability to think on their feet. Throughout the event we have also been reminded of something that cannot be taught: authenticity – and that is where our students have truly shined.”
School Beyond Limitations sees entrepreneurial and leadership skills as being essential in today’s curriculum across all subjects.By leaning into their growing curiosity and natural thirst for knowledge, the school encourages its students to appreciate and question the world around them while developing an entrepreneurial growth mindset around finding solutions to new challenges.
“It takes great confidence and bravery to stand up and present in front of others. Everyone who pitched at the event is a winner because they showed up, stepped into something real and showed initiative and passion. We are looking forward to working with the winning teams, but we also want to encourage every student that participated to reach out to their teachers and mentors if they are keen to progress their idea, regardless of the results.
School Beyond Limitations (SBL) is an international online school head-quartered in the UK (London) providing primary, secondary and sixth form education for students aged 4 to 19 years. Disrupting the boundaries of traditional education, its students receive a meaningful, personalised learning experience delivered in a unique collaborative, mixed-age environment. Lessons are designed to empower students, unlocking their full potential while bringing their own unique essence to life. Established in 2019, SBL students learn in small groups of eight and are inspired by curiosity-led, project-based learning including entrepreneurial and financial education. All students are involved in the design of their own learning and educational pathway, whether that means working towards IGSCEs and A-Levels or taking an alternative route. The school also runs three in-person school residentials per year for experiential learning and delivers personalised one-to-one mentoring for students, as well as a bridging year for post-sixth form adults needing support with their future.
