In pictures: Over £100k raised for local charities as Dacorum Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge celebrates 10th year

Over £100k has been raised for local charities as Dacorum Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge celebrated its 10th year.

Team Dingo Dollars from Sir John Lawes School has been proclaimed the overall winner of the 10th annual Dacorum Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge.

The team was one of 10 taking part in the challenge and was presented their award by the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss CBE.

All teams from local secondary schools were supplied with £100 stake and challenged to turn it into £1,000 or more, with support and advice from mentors within the borough’s business community.

The budding entrepreneurs this year raised nearly £10,500 which takes the total for the past 10 years at a whopping £110,000.

The teenage tycoons in waiting stepped up to tackle a charity challenge and were showered with praise on Monday night at the Awards Night held at Shendish Manor Hotel.

The SuperDragon judges - leaders from the world of business, education and local government - were impressed with their all round business abilities as well as the confident way in which they presented themselves, always representing their charity. The teams showed determination and perseverance in their aim to raise as much money as possible for their charity.

The Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Robert Voss CBE presented the awards and inspired the audience of young people, businesses and charities by emphasising the practical value of the Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge.

“I’d like to congratulate all the teams that took part in this year’s Dragons Apprentice Challenge and particularly to overall winners team Dingo Dollars from Sir John Lawes School. I was very impressed to see the all the teams display’s and get the opportunity to talk to all the students about the challenges they faced. Listening to the presentations I was struck by how they learnt that allocating individual roles created a stronger team and communication with teachers, the public and social media made a big impact.”

Named as overall winners on the night were the team from Sir John Lawes School, who scooped a Snow Centre snowboarding and ringos session for their efforts in support of Rennie Grove Hospice Care.

Their Dragon was Liz Redway, from Redway HR, who said: “The team of year 12 students from Sir John Lawes were an absolute pleasure to work with, and were incredibly impressive in their approach to the challenge. I’m so pleased that they raised such a super amount for Rennie Grove Hospice and contributed to the £10,000 total raised this year by all schools across the challenge.

"I’d thoroughly recommend the Dragon’s Apprentice Challenge to every single school as it is such a rich learning experience for the students in life, business, teamwork and resilience. And of course it is a great way to connect with local charities and businesses.”

Other winners were:Most Money raised: Hydra from John F Kennedy SchoolBest Business idea: Dingo Dollars from Sir John Lawes SchoolClose Co-operation with Charity: RadioHead from John F Kennedy SchoolBest Display: LDA from Longdean SchoolBest Presentation: Destiny’s Dragons from John K Kennedy School

Three other teams were recognised for their demonstration of personal development – Ashlyns, Hemel Hempstead and Tring. As they celebrated their successes all the teenagers agreed that the Dacorum Dragons Apprentice Challenge – just completed it’s tenth year – was both a lot more work than they had ever realised but a test that both developed their skills and gave them a chance to get involved in their community.

Schools who completed the 2022/23 Challenge: Ashlyns, Astley Cooper, Hemel Hempstead, John F Kennedy, Longdean, Tring and Sir John Lawes.

The teams are supported by Dragons from local businesses including: Ten2Two, Squire Estates, SMA HR, SA Law, B&M Care, Redway HR, Mountain Training Trust, Barnard & Co and Hertfordshire LEP.

Charities/Community Groups to benefit include: Community Action Dacorum, Gaddesden Riding for the Disabled, Waterways Experiences, Herts Domestic Abuse Helpline, Dacorum Mencap, Watford FC Trust, DENS, Rennie Grove Hospice Care, Dacorum Heritage Trust.

The Challenge is organised by Connect Dacorum and runs annually from September to April.

Any schools, businesses or charities across Dacorum that are interested in taking part in Dragons’ Apprentice 2023/24 should contact Cindy by email.