Budding Skinners’ Academy entrepreneurs go from classroom to boardroom

A group of budding teenage entrepreneurs have seen their charitable business enterprise take them from the classroom to the boardroom.

Back in 2015, Skinners’ Academy students Agnieszka Rudnik, Daisie Spiteri, Elif Sucu, Mark Daniel and Matthew Daniel – collectively known as Team iRoundUp – won a national business competition led by Mosaic, a mentoring initiative of The Prince’s Trust.

The scheme allows students to donate money to charity through the online school payment website ParentPay, a service that allows families to pay for school expenses including uniform, dinners and trips.

After a successful testing phase earlier this month, iRoundUp has now been rolled out across the company’s UK platform and is available to about two million parents.

So far, more than £12,000 has been raised for charitable causes, and 6,000 schools have signed up to use the students’ payment tool.

One of the first charities to benefit from the innovative scheme is the Wallace and Gromit’s Children’s Charity.

The organisation raises funds to improve the lives of sick children in hospitals throughout the UK.

Speaking on behalf of the iRoundUp, Agnieszka Rudnik said: “We were all moved by the heartwarming story of Andreia Buzio and her two-year-old son Henrique, who was diagnosed with a condition that means he was unable to speak.

“The iRoundUp donations have helped fund music therapy for Henrique and he was recently able to speak his first words.

“Knowing our scheme has helped a little boy to be able to speak was very overwhelming, and a few of us got very emotional.

“It’s amazing to see how small donations can make such a big difference to someone else’s life.”

Helen Haskell, who is corporate partnerships manager at the Wallace and Gromit charity, added: “We were delighted to be chosen by ParentPay as the first charity to benefit from the funds raised by the iRoundUp scheme.

“The students at Skinners’ Academy should be thrilled with their achievement.

“The money raised will benefit children in hospitals and hospices, providing life-saving medical equipment, free family accommodation and a range of arts, music and play therapy programmes.

“It will make a huge difference.”

If you are interested in starting a commercial venture or signing up as a volunteer mentor on this year’s Enterprise Challenge, visit mosaicnetwork.co.uk, or email mosaic@princes-trust.org.uk