The scene is set, bunting strung and stalls prepared for one of the biggest events in the Atelier 21 calendar… the annual Business Fair has arrived!
Unlike the grey, cloudy sky that envelopes the area, the spirit of entrepreneurship and collaboration is bright, vibrant, and alive as pupils and staff work fervently together to bring their ideas, creations, and hard work to life. While the pupils have worked on their businesses all term, behind the scenes staff have meticulously planned, organised and prepared the school buildings and grounds to host parents and members of extended family ensuring the fair is an event to remember for all the right reasons.
Over the course of the summer term, pupils of all ages in the upper and lower school are given £10 seed funding as the budget to create a business that can generate a profit at the Business Fair. With the choice to work alone or in groups, the pupils’ creativity and innovation know no bounds, and that is just the beginning.
The Business Fair is another great opportunity for project-based, applied learning in action. Throughout the term, teachers have been weaving lessons including budgeting, costing, scaling, profit and loss, marketing, brand and logo design, and communication of ideas. Pupils have been supported and encouraged to research and explore creating a business that not only makes money but incorporates relevance, meaning, and joy—three of the core pillars that stand as solid foundations for all education at Atelier 21.
With innovation and creativity at the heart of the school curriculum, pupils are empowered to consider and reflect on what worked well previously and what could be unproved. Thus, the business fair, like all great innovations, becomes an iterative process of design, refine and realignment to the vision of the pupils, staff collaboration.
This year two new initiatives, proposed by the pupils, were brought to life and the business fair moved to the penultimate day of term to allow for integration and reflection before the summer break. Taking marketing of their businesses very seriously, pupils led on the new initiative to design flyers, posters and even video based adverts to be showcased in the first ever Atelier 21 business fair catalogue which was circulated to their target markets, the parents and families, the Friday before the event. Thus, tempting and enticing them to come prepared with cash so as not to be disappointed on the day. With the pre-event planning in place, thoughts turned to how to integrate more reflection into the learning from the event, resulting in the creation of bespoke business planner journals which will follow the pupils year on year throughout their time at the school. This allows them to reflect on their progress each year as well as track and innovate year on year.
The school spirit is alive and vibrant, colourful bunting festoons the railings and building as you approach, the gateway opens onto a scene buzzing with music and activity. In the days and hours leading up to the grand opening, hours of work has gone into creating spaces to showcase the pupils work to provide a safe, welcoming, celebration. The day-to-day business of running a school magnified and multiplied for all the stall holders, when preparing to showcase the true nature of what delivering a pioneering approach to education requires.
As parents arrived, they were greeted by the founder, Hayley, who welcomed and encouraged them to explore and spend generously at the carefully laid out stalls within the piazza, the Year 6 classroom, and in the playground filled with a bustling array of stalls.
Despite the drizzle, parents, staff and pupils prepared for the weather, with waterproofs and umbrellas join in. Younger pupils excitedly grabbing their parents’ hands to lead them in a merry dance around the stalls – to count coins and spend cash on products, games and food.
The youngest entrepreneurs have been passionate advocates for improving the world we live in throughout their projects this year. The Business Fair provided them with the ultimate opportunity to change how we impact the world through how we clean ourselves and our homes. Producing delicious smelling soaps, shampoos, shaving bars and house cleaners from 100% natural ingredients. These were then created and packaged in “The Good Stuff” brand they democratically designed.
Meanwhile, the Year 2 class collectively created the first Atelier 21 book telling their story of the creature whose nest they discovered in Tilgate Forest, which turned into a year-long investigation, now inspiring a profitable product that also demonstrates the power of the project-based learning approach.
Moving through the year groups, pupils created businesses showing their passions for food and culture in the piazza and Year 6 classrooms turned food courts for the day with smoothies, Norwegian waffles, Polish food, gingerbread biscuit decorating experiences, juice bars, milkshakes, Brazilian chocolate treats, sweet bags with needle-felted surprises inside, flavoured popcorn, and many more delicious treats to tempt the shopper’s appetites.
For the crafty and product-focused buyer, there were hand-crafted products galore… bowls made from vinyl records, ornamental teapots made from drink cans, beaded bracelets, candles, tote bags, potion making, jewellery, masks, clay pots and serenity-themed second-hand books – focused on giving the buyer a moment of calm reflection.
Not to be outdone, the Year 3 pupils provided entertainment galore with Greek and Roman-themed products, an interactive photo booth, potion making, and by charging parents entry for an entertaining and drama-filled show.
As the morning progressed, the enterprising nature of the pupils was not limited to the confines of their stalls; many of them ventured out into the crowds confidently approaching customers milling around other stalls to invite them to try their products, services, and even offering bespoke upgrades such as milkshake delivery… for a small charge, of course! Entrepreneurial thinking did not end there, with brand manager Sarah being granted interviews with pupils about their experience in return for a purchase from their stalls and Oli C spotting an opportunity for an extra sales boost when the Michael Jackson Vinyl art piece had pupils clamouring over it, he quickly improvised, setting up a bidding process. Watch this space for the big reveal on what it went for in the end.
Recognising that many of the food offerings from pupils at the business fair were delicious sweet treats, staff asked the parent run Atelier Community Association (ACA) to take on a savoury food and drink stall to offer a nutritious lunchtime option. Inspired by the ‘try something different’ approach to eating that has been pioneered by pupils and supported in the school’s lunch menus, the parents produced 80 vegan and vegetarian Buddha bowl style salads ensuring staff lunches were delivered free of charge in thanks and recognition of the incredible, hard work they do all year and especially to host incredible events like the business fair. Parents, pupils and staff alike commented on how delicious and nutritious the offering was, if perhaps a little cold for such a rainy day!
Pupils were excited and enthusiastic as they shared their hopes and dreams for how the fair was going and how much money they would raise. While they did not have final figures for the whole school on the day, many pupils expressed surprise and delight at how much their individual stalls had raised and how generously parents had spent – their financial success a testament to the effort, hard work and enthusiasm every pupil had put in on the run-up to the day.
Business does not end at the fair, with takings being counted and profits calculated, in true Atelier 21 style the profits will go to the Ambassador funds for pupils to democratically decide how to proportionate the funds between saving, donating to charity and investing in school projects – closing the circle on real world, applied financial and semi democratic education for the 4-16 year olds. The profit made by the pupils on the day exceeded all expectations coming in well over £2,000, with takings still coming in. A significant profit made from £10 per pupil seed funding!
Despite the menacing grey clouds, the rain held off to a drizzle for most of the morning. As the fair closed, pupils, staff, and parents gathered in the playground for presentations and celebrations.
With James, the new Executive Headteacher, taking to the stage alongside Hayley, he thanked parents for attending the “school swimming gala” as the heavens opened in a deluge of torrential rain. Pupils undeterred raised their faces to catch raindrops in their open mouths, and splashed and danced in giant puddles reminding all the adults present that “life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass it’s about learning to dance in the rain!”
The awards presented recognised multiple outstanding achievements, from entrepreneurial endeavours to sporting excellence, championing the school spirit and chrysalis awards dedicated to pupils throughout the school that have shown particular transformation and growth in themselves through this year.
This year’s award for entrepreneurship went to Teddy E for his home grown produce stall. He had meticulously grown spring onions, delicious sweet peas that popped out of fresh pods when you ate them, recycled diet coke cans made into ornamental teapots and beautiful home grown flowers arranged into bouquets. An impressive and diverse offering from the young entrepreneur that stood out and drew attention from all who passed by.
Another highlight of the closing ceremony was Amelia M’s beautiful rendition of the song Drive by Olivia Rodrigo, accompanied by executive headteacher James on the guitar. Caught up in the spirit of the event, parents quickly took inspiration from the pupils collaborative spirit, working together to move gazebos from over stalls to cover seating for others and save at least some from getting soaked to the skin. Not even torrential rain could dampen the spirits, resilience, and determination to end another incredible year on a high note with a celebration of every member of the Atelier 21 family.
Despite the downpours and with the school now closed for summer, Hayley and the team are overwhelmed with positive feedback and comments from parents about the events and their children’s experiences of the school:
“I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU to you both and the rest of the staff! The support, care and commitment to Owen has been outstanding. We feel so blessed to have found Atelier and relieved to see him thriving in school❤️”
“Just a quick message from us to say thank you for giving our daughter the opportunity to be part of Atelier. We are incredibly grateful. Today really showed how happy she is and how she is flourishing. We loved it all this afternoon 🥰”
All sentiments echoed by so many of the families who say, “We love Atelier, it’s our extended family 🥰”
Looking ahead with James at the helm supported by the incredible Atelier 21 team, Hayley is confident that the future of her vision for the school and for the future of education is more exciting than ever, a sentiment echoed by parents in their feedback:
“Hi Hayley hope all is well. We just had a very positive meeting with James. We felt his approach will bring the right balance in terms of keeping the Atelier philosophy and the great things about the school alive, whilst having a clear view of the rigour and data that he needs to bring to drive academic success for the children 😊”
Speaking with many parents as they left the Business Fair, the feelings of many can be eloquently summed up in this feedback:
“It’s been an amazing year and having just left school for the long summer, both my kids have been complaining in the car about how much they will miss school over the holidays!! It was the opposite reaction at their last school!”
Days beforehand Hayley was presenting at a prestigious educational conference on the subject “What’s the point of School?”. With children who don’t want to leave, saying how much they will miss school over the summer, it is clear that when it comes to creating and executing a philosophy that embodies and demonstrates the point of a school built for our children’s futures rather than our past, Atelier 21 is pioneering the right path to fulfil Hayley’s vision and ambition to transform the lives of ‘a million children to start’.
