Royal venue hosts school's final bid

Peter Jones CBE, Dragons’ Den star made the decision to shortlist the team Lease 2 Learn as one of the top young teams.

The six year 11 students from Yorkshire are one of just eight teams who will attend Buckingham Palace for the awards ceremony on Monday 6 March.

They officially launched their business idea, Lease 2 Learn, to market in October, which allows students, teachers and the wider community to be able to lease and hire equipment, including refurbished laptops, and space at a very competitive and affordable price.

This year, the stakes were higher than ever before, as the competition officially expanded into primary schools for the very first time.

More than 100 teams of children as young as five went head-to-head, starting their own businesses and trading between October and December.

Lease 2 Learn were one of the eight teams that stood out among more than 150 teams taking part in the competition from across the UK.

Peter Jones CBE said: “I have been bowled over by the ambitious and innovative businesses that have been started as part of this year’s Tycoon in Schools competition. The standard has been particularly high this year with thousands of students taking part – including expansion into primary schools for the very first time.

“It will be a great honour to announce the winners at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace alongside HRH, The Duke of York, KG, Patron of the Peter Jones Foundation.

“I look forward to meeting the teams and hearing even more about their businesses in March.”