We sponsored this year’s IKIC Big Challenge awards ceremony which took place at The Civic on 25 May. The BiG Challenge is an enterprise competition and gives students aged nine to nineteen years first-hand practical experience of running an enterprise.

The awards ceremony celebrated all the teams’ efforts and accomplishments throughout the challenge. To choose the final winners, all teams pitched to a panel of expert judges at the Digital Media Centre, including Rose Dyson from Pura Cosmetics, Helen Valentine from Barnsley Council, Catherine Spooner from Henry Boot Construction and Mandy Reavil from NPS Barnsley. The teams were judged on their innovation, potential for future growth, profit and overall quality of the pitch.

Kasey’s Kakes from Kirk Balk Academy, which produces a range of baked goods, was the winner of the Best Secondary Business Award. The award for Best Primary Business went to Freya Winstanley, for The Wood Workshop, selling a range of homemade wooden items.

Communications Officer, Catherine Spooner said: “It was great to be part of the panel for this year’s Big Challenge Awards and there were some outstanding enterprises that showed great potential. The event was a great opportunity to support young people in starting business enterprises in Barnsley and hopefully the winners will go from strength to strength in the future.

'I Know I Can' is an overall approach to helping the Barnsley district's young people build their confidence and raise their aspirations. To find out more information about the I Know I Can scheme visit their website.

These awards are a fabulous way for us to showcase, celebrate and recognise the talent of young people across Barnsley. These young people are ultimately our future and it’s fantastic to see Barnsley’s next generation already showing great potential. As we strive towards a thriving and vibrant economy, job creation and business growth are important outcomes for the future. We already provide a lot of support to help new businesses start trading in Barnsley and these talented, innovative young entrepreneurs certainly show great promise for us to achieve our ambitions for Barnsley in the future.

Councillor Roy Miller, Cabinet Spokesperson for Place, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council