Can you help our social entrepreneurs?

This week we launched the first lessons for our EDGE Social Entrepreneurship & Innovation Certificate, a two-year GCSE equivalent course that our Fourth Year pupils are taking alongside their GCSE subjects. More than 70 pupils have opted in, a substantial first cohort, and one that is going to hugely benefit from support from our Caterham community.

That is where we need you! Our groundbreaking course is made stronger by the professional across from working life who are willing to sit with pupils and ask them the questions a real client, customer or investor would. Can you help?

We are open to all offers of support and particularly invite mentors working in:

• social enterprise, charity and community organisations
• market research, consumer insight and user testing
• product design, service design and UX
• engineering, manufacturing and prototyping
• marketing, brand, communications and PR
• finance and accountancy and funding of all kinds: grants, crowdfunding, angel and social investment
• ESG, impact measurement and social value
• law, particularly intellectual property and company structures
• technology, data, software and AI ethics
• policy, local government and public services

Three ways to help, none of them a term-long commitment:

• A one-off talk: half an hour on what you do, and one thing you got wrong on the way.
• A visit to a class: sit with three or four teams, hear their thinking, and tell them what you would ask if you were the customer.
• Virtual mentoring through YouNoodle: review pitches and give feedback online, in your own time, from anywhere in the world.

And separately: our Entrepreneurs Club

The club meets weekly and supports both our own school enterprise, Hills and Hive, and pupils building their own business or social enterprise. For the club we are particularly keen to hear from anyone in social media, marketing, product development or finance.

If this sounds like you, or like someone you know, please get in touch with Sam Webster at [email protected]

Do write even if you are not certain you have the right background: pupils choose a very wide range of ventures, and the most useful mentors are often the ones who did not expect to be asked.