Students at Bedlingtonshire Community High School have a head start when it comes to being enterprising (writes Andrew Lambert of MDA).
They have their own flourishing Enterprise Centre, their assistant principal Will Close-Ash also runs a successful mountain adventure company and three sixth formers have already demonstrated they have an appetite for business.
And it is for these reasons that the school has been chosen to host one of the major events in a week-long celebration of enterprise.
During Global Entrepreneurship Week female students from all the high schools in Ashington and Bedlington will take part in Women into Enterprise, where successful local businesswomen will speak about their experiences. The students will also take part in a range of enterprise activities.
Women into Enterprise will feature in December's edition of Banter, a topical magazine written and produced by students Chelsea Mason, Tina Rowell and Jess Storey. All 2,000 copies of the first edition, on sale at the school and in Bedlington, sold out.
Will said: "They actually won an enterprise competition which provided them with the money to finance Banter in the first place. In the past, running a business has been something other people do. But our message is that anybody with the right idea and a willingness to work hard can set up their own enterprise. And I hope Women into Enterprise will inspire the young people to do just that."
Women into Enterprise is the brainchild of Go Wansbeck business coach Dave Gibbon, who organised a similar event at Northumberland College earlier this year. He also advised Will Close-Ash on setting up his business, Mountain Energy, which offers both inexperienced and seasoned climbers the opportunity to take part in mountaineering courses, personal challenges and team building.
Dave said: "Will's energy and enthusiasm means he is an ideal person to encourage his students to think about enterprise. The fact that, with the support of his school, he runs an exciting and very unusual type of business also means he can speak to them with the benefit of personal experience."
He added: "Thousands of people will be taking part in events throughout the world during Global Entrepreneurship Week. In the UK - and particularly in the North East - there has probably never been a better time to think about starting up your own business."