An entrepreneurially minded student at Pocklington School has received the Smailes Goldie Award for her role in leading a team that achieved national success in the Peter Jones Tycoon Enterprise Competition.
Charlotte Shephard’s achievements were celebrated by the team at Smailes Goldie, an accountancy firm that has offices in Hull, Scarborough, Selby, Pickering, Kirkbymoorside and Barton , and her teachers at a ceremony held at the school on 3 July.
Earlier in the year, she guided Pocklington School 2026 Tycoon Enterprise Team to the finals of the national competition, created by the Dragon’s Den star, which resulted in them placing first for return on investment and fifth in the country for profit.
The team are now waiting for their overall financial performance to be judged to find out whether they will be crowned overall winners.
“Although this was a Pocklington School Tycoon Team effort, the team agreed that it was Charlotte’s entrepreneurial skills and leadership that had been a driving force in their success,” said Gareth Shephard, Head of Business and Economics at the school.
Facing looming Lower Sixth exams, Charlotte still found time to perfect her beeswax wrap design and build up stock to meet demand.
Her team ran a series of fundraising drives to cover the raw materials needed for manufacturing and branding. Charlotte then secured stalls at local markets and drew on her personal network to push sales volumes higher.
Ian Lamb, Managing Partner at Smailes Goldie, said: “Charlotte’s success is clear to see and so we are immensely proud to sponsor these awards that celebrate her achievements.
“Her work as part of the Pocklington School Tycoon Team has helped to bring national acclaim to Pocklington School and it is easy to see why, given her ability to lead her team to beat so many others in key areas of running a business.
“I am sure she has a very bright future ahead of her. On behalf of everyone at Smailes Goldie, I would like to congratulate her and wish her the best in her next endeavours.”
Smailes Goldie has a long and proud history of supporting local schools and community groups in the areas surrounding its six offices.
