Team TRACOuk members have been giving their time voluntarily over the past two months to take part in an incredible project run by their partners, Shaping Portsmouth. SEND students from local schools in and around Portsmouth participated in the "Dragons Den"-style entrepreneurial initiative, which gave them the opportunity to develop their own brand and product that, if they won, would be produced and sold at the Shaping Portsmouth Conference in January.

Two members of the team, Abi Haywood, the marketing lead, and Jordan Newman, the warehouse supervisor, volunteered to serve as mentors for the students.

'I am very appreciative to have been a part of such an incredible experience. The pupils' enthusiasm, happiness, and level of confidence in presenting their ideas were all amazing. Working with my group was a lot of fun!' - Abi Haywood, Marketing Lead.

Abi and Jordan supported the teams at Redwood Park Academy while serving as mentors. Designing products that the students could sell at the Shaping Portsmouth Conference in January was their task, and it involved conceptual design, product research, money awareness, marketing and presentation. Any money raised would be provided to the schools so they could choose a charity of their choosing to donate to or upgrade their facilities. The money earned would also be used to cover the cost of manufacturing the products.

The judges were present, and Abi watched and listened to each school's ideas as they were presented at the Guildhall in Portsmouth on the final day.

Since the final stage day, the judges have announced the winning group... a small team from Redwood Park Academy who were mentored by our Marketing Lead, Abi. Congratulations to all the students involved and a huge well done to the enterprise experts who were the Cascades group!

We can't wait to participate once again next year! Additionally, we must express our gratitude to Marian for her outstanding planning of the entire project as well as to our partners Shaping Portsmouth for involving us.