In June, Peter Jones wrote a letter to children at Cippenham Junior School encouraging them to participate in a business enterprise project being organised by the head teachers. Pupils were given £1 and asked to think up ways of making money, either by producing products to sell or providing a service.

The school was a hive of activity throughout the venture, with car washing and beauty salons on offer as well as an array of cakes biscuits and smoothies for sale. The children not only had fun, they also learnt about advertising and market research as well as the importance of team work and perseverance.

Maureen Smith, Deputy Head Teacher said,

“We used Peter’s letter and some videos from the website to kick start the project. Everyone had a wonderful time and all are exhausted but truly proud of their achievements”

Profits totalling £1,212.17 were donated to the Forgotten Children charity, with the original £500 being reinvested in a school stationary shop run by the children and an allotment project.

July 9th saw Peter Jones and friends head off for a charity fundraiser for Forgotten Children and The National Enterprise Academy at The Royal Berkshire Shooting School

The shoot was followed by lunch and a silent auction for items that included a cricket bat signed by the current England test team, a signed Dragon’s Den photo and lunch with the FT’s Mrs Moneypenny.

During lunch Jeffrey Archer held the main auction. Guests dug deep to bid for lots including a holiday in a Marbella Villa, 7 nights in a luxury Descent International Summer Chalet and a white knuckle rally day.

The day raised more than £30,000 for Forgotten Children and The National Enterprise Academy.

Former British Davis Cup and Wimbledon player, John Feaver, has joined the Peter Jones National Enterprise Academy. John will be directly responsible for identifying corporate partners for the Academy.

On joining the team, John said:

“I’m absolutely delighted to be joining the Peter Jones National Academy for Enterprise. I believe passionately in the values behind the project and am confident that we can create an academy that engages and inspires the future leaders of business.”

John Feaver played professional tennis for 16 years and has subsequently worked in corporate fundraising and communications.

He has been a Director on several national and international governing bodies. These have included Director of Yamaha Sports UK, Director of LTA and SMP and Acting Chief Executive at The Lord’s Taverners. He has also been involved in several other private enterprises throughout the years.

 John has been Head of Player Relations at Wimbledon for over 20 years.

Peter Jones has appointed Blue Rubicon to handle PR for the launch of the National Skills Academy for Enterprise. They will also be helping to cultivate partnerships for the Academy with high profile brands and business leaders.

Commenting on Blue Rubicon’s appointment, Peter Jones said:

“We had a rigorous process of selection, which involved a paper review of six agencies and
a pitch of three.

“While the quality of agency we saw was extremely high, Blue Rubicon was
still head and shoulders above the rest.

“Despite some tough questions from the team, they exceeded all my expectations with their expertise, flair and deep knowledge of the education and skills sector”.

Julia Muir, Senior Consultant at Blue Rubicon, said:

“We’re delighted to be working with Peter on such an important campaign and really excited about the challenge of establishing the Academy at the heart of a new approach to enterprise learning and entrepreneurialism in the UK”.

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Peter Jones and Business Minister Shriti Vadera made a joint visit to Slough and Eton Business and Enterprise College, which specialises in providing enterprise education.

The visit highlighted the vital role that an enterprising culture, including in schools, will have if the UK is to become the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

For Peter, the visit was a chance to quiz students about their entrepreneurial ambitions, and to get feedback on plans for the National Enterprise Academy.  In a Q&A session with staff and students, Peter praised the school’s focus on enterprise and the encouragement and support offered to help students reach their potential.

While recounting the ups and downs of his own entrepreneurial journey, Peter’s advice was: “Be determined and never give up, even when the chips are down, take stock, look for positives and learning opportunities and be persistent in the quest for success.”

Peter Jones will lead an Enterprise Day as part of this year’s Shine Festival - England’s National Schools Festival, which will be a week long showcase of all the talents of all young people.  The Enterprise Day will take place on 4 July, during which Peter will visit Manchester Academy School and participate in a number of student activities, as well as meeting the staff and local businesses who support the school.

Peter said: “I’m backing Shine because I believe everyone has a hidden talent. I had a great passion for tennis when I was younger and I definitely believe that being able to follow my dreams back then has played a big part in giving me the confidence to be successful in business today.”

Shine is designed to widen perceptions of talent and help young people to recognise it within themselves. The first Shine Festival takes place June 30th - July 4th 2008. Thousands of schools have already signed up online at www.shineweek.co.uk to join in, while young people are using the site to upload their best work to the ‘Virtual Wall of Talent’.

The hunt for a location for our South East home for the National Enterprise Academy HQ is continuing apace. We have been looking around Bucks generally and visited Aylesbury earlier this week looking at some locations and land in the area. The Bucks Herald picked up on our visit and you can read the story here: http://www.bucksherald.co.uk/news/TV-Dragon-may-set-up.4088970.jp

The Gremlins, the trouble-making creatures from the 1980s films of the same name, have returned after 20 years to wreak havoc on Peter Jones in a TV ad for BT.  The ad is part of a campaign to promote BT’s 24-hour IT and communications support for business customers.

Since making the ad, which airs on TV from 5 May, BT has offered its support for the National Enterprise Academy and particularly Peter’s vision for a new qualification in entrepreneurship “taught by entrepreneurs” .

Bill Murphy, Managing Director, BT Business said: “We applaud Peter Jones’ National Enterprise Academy concept with its focus on unlocking the entrepreneurial talents of the nation’s young people, and we look forward to working with the future generation of innovative employees and businesses it aims to encourage.”

Peter Jones’ call on the Enterprise Campaign Coalition to help in the task of realising his vision for the National Enterprise Academy has been received with unanimous offers of support from its members.

The Coalition, which comprises 25 national organisations from education, the voluntary sector, business and government, met at the Institute of Directors, Pall Mall, London today.

Peter updated members on the progress to establish the National Enterprise Academy and explained the current focus was to forge links with and collaborate as widely as possible with any bodies involved in enterprise education and business support.

Peter said: “We are particularly keen on talking to employers of all sizes to ensure that any qualification offered by the National Enterprise Academy really meets skills needs.

“In time, we hope to work with employers so that the qualification can be delivered in the workplace, as well as through partnerships with other training partners and further education establishments.”

Peter added that any organisation within and beyond the coalition that is working in the same area as the National Enterprise Academy is welcome to make contact with the Project Team to find out more.