Local National School wins major award in the All-Island Junior Entrepreneur Programme Awards

FIFTH and Sixth class at Killeen National School in Birr, Co. Offaly received the Dynamic Designers for their JEP business, Bugsy the Boot Jack in the All-Island Junior Entrepreneur Programme Awards announced this week. The Dynamic Designers Award recognises original design and artwork that pupils create to make, brand and promote their products.

Inspired by the interests of the local community, including farming and horseriding, the children zoned in on the problem of removing mucky boots. They developed Bugsy the Boot Jack, a wooden boot jack in the shape of a rabbit, to help remove boots, wellies and shoes.

The production team created a template and enlisted parents to help cut out the timber pieces. The whole class rolled up their sleeves to make the finished product - they drew a Bugsy illustration on each piece and attached a stand on the back before sanding and varnishing the boot jack to make it ready for sale. The marketing and communications team designed a logo and created an Instagram page. Next, they made a promotional video ad with the help of the whole class. The sales team invited parents to a showcase day at the school where the boot jacks were on sale.

Making and finishing the product was very labour intensive, so the pupils decided to limit production to 70 pieces. They sold all 70 products and made a profit of €712. The class generously donated €500 of their profits to the Irish Cancer Society Volunteer Driver Service and put the balance towards a celebratory class trip to Dublin.

Thousands of Irish entrepreneurs have mentored 5^th and 6^th class primary school pupils while they create and launch mini businesses in their schools. Children are inspired by local entrepreneurs invited to the classroom to share their stories. EY Entrepreneur of the Year Alumni also volunteer their time to visit schools in their counties.

Marie Lynch, the co-founder and Managing Director of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme, said that over 12,000 Irish primary school children have launched classroom businesses this year as part of their participation in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme. Leveraging their combined talents and innate creativity with the skills they develop on the programme, they work together as a class to create original products and launch a real business from the classroom. “JEP has become a rite of passage for children in primary schools before they move on to secondary school.” “The class develops a lasting bond by working together to experience real-world success. For many, it is the highlight of their primary school years”, she added.

The Junior Entrepreneur Programme is a real-life, immersive entrepreneurship skills programme for 5th and 6th-class primary schoolchildren; it nurtures confidence, resilience, creativity, problem-solving and teamwork and engages pupils of all abilities. It is offered free of charge to schools on the island of Ireland.

The programme started in Kerry in 2010. Over 112,000 pupils have participated in the programme since its foundation. The businesses created by the participating pupils have achieved sales of over €3 million. Profits belong to the participating class who frequently opt to donate a proportion to charity. JEP was co-founded by entrepreneur Jerry Kennelly to promote entrepreneurship in primary schools and was developed in collaboration with Mary Immaculate College, Limerick.

Enterprise Ireland has supported JEP since 2020 under its Primary Schools Entrepreneurship Initiative, underlining the vital role of entrepreneurship in shaping Ireland’s future and the commitment to fostering an entrepreneurial culture from an early age.