Carisbrooke College and Medina College are delighted to announce that their joint team, Wild Wax Melts, have won the Best Company award in the Young Enterprise Company of the Year Grand Final for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Wild Wax Melts, made up of Year 10 students Freya and Sophie from Carisbrooke College, and Archie from Medina College, are the first team from the Island to see such success in the challenge at this level! They will now go on to compete in the South Eastern Regional Final at Samsung KX in London on Thursday 23 May. 

The team formed at the start of the programme in September 2023 and came up with the concept of manufacturing and selling a range of wax melts. They have developed their product, formed marketing and sales strategies and have secured funding through local ‘Dragon’s Den’ style events. They have worked hard to create retail opportunities for their business and have attended various local events to sell their products. They have been supported by an appointed Business Advisor, Tracy Osborn from Quarr Abbey.

A second team made up of Carisbrooke College students also entered the competition and have seen great success. Insignia, made up of Year 10 students Molly-Nora, Lissy and Morgan, set up a badge making business and have been very successful in securing corporate orders from organisations such as the Isle of Wight Council and Isle of Wight Pride company. They have been supported by Business Advisor Mark Lounds of RPL Construction. 

The Island VI Form also entered two teams into the competition, IO Magazine made up of Ethan, Finley and Charlotte, and The Little Wight Jewellery Box made up of Finn, Amelie, Ellie and Ruby, who won the award for Marketing at the Isle of Wight Grand Final. 

At the Isle of Wight Grand Final, Wild Wax Melts won the Best Company Award and Dianne Butler Memorial Finance Award. Insignia were runners up in the competition, meaning that both teams progressed to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Grand Final in Southampton on Wednesday 15 May. Wild Wax Melts won the Best Company Award and a special award for Marketing. Insignia won a special award for Presentation, despite being a person down. 

Careers Leader for the Isle of Wight Education Federation, Sarah Coetzee said “We are so proud of all of our teams and how they have performed throughout the Young Enterprise Company Programme process. They have taken on new challenges and learnt so much, always impressing us with their dedication, commitment and enthusiasm. Their success is well-deserved and we are also grateful to their Business Advisers who have helped foster their entrepreneurial talents.”

Executive Headteacher, Matthew Parr-Burman said “I am immensely proud of these young entrepreneurs who have shown that they are able to compete with their peers on the Island, mainland and beyond. We can’t wait to see how Team Wild Wax Melts do in the next stage of the competition and how they use their business acumen going forward in the future. They are an inspiration to our younger students.”