Shark Reef 2024 allowed S3 pupils to present their business ideas to a panel of judges/sponsors at the Caledonia Gladiators venue in East Kilbride.

The Dragons' Den inspired event was won by a team from Holy Cross High School. Their entry – Rooted in Lanarkshire – was a well-researched project aimed at tackling food poverty and addressing climate action.

Teams from Carluke High (Aurum and Mother Nature) were runners up.

Councillor Robert Brown, Chair of the Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, attended the event.

He said: “We are always looking at ways to get our young people involved in the world of business and to teach them about its importance to the economy.

“Doing so in such a fun and informative way is key, and the event certainly showed what they can achieve when they put their mind to thinking of a business idea.

“I hope it has inspired some of them in terms of a future career, and congratulations to our winners from Holy Cross High School, but every team that took part should be proud of their efforts as the standard was so high from each of them.”

The programme was part funded by UK Shared Prosperity funding and attracted interest from seven schools, with some schools putting forward more than one entry.

A total of 12 Business Plans were scored by business advisors at Business Gateway Lanarkshire, and the top three plans were invited to the Shark Reef final where each team presented their ideas, delivering their pitch to the panel of judges.

Business Leaders from Inspirent, Blue Parrot Events, Strachan and Kemp and Caledonia Gladiators took on the role of judges at the final event and sponsored the winner and runner up prizes. A fantastic Top Golf experience was also donated for the winning school.