Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the Enterprise Troopers?

The Enterprise Troopers are based on the ACRO model of entrepreneurship, the four key characteristics of entrepreneurial behaviour: 

  • Attitude 

  • Creativity 

  • Relationships

  • Organisation

Do we have to teach the competition activities? 

The competition is structured to provide you with flexibility in how to run your school’s activity.  The activity can be run with individual classes, across a whole year group, with small groups of pupils, as a suspended timetable day, embedded in lessons or a combination of these approaches – it’s up to you.

 

Does the competition have a theme?

The competition does not have a specific theme. We think that this would limit opportunities for learning. You have complete flexibility to plan, carry out and showcase your own exciting entrepreneurial activity.

However, you may wish to consider enterprise activities that cover the criteria of the main prizes – ECO/Sustainability Award, Creativity/Innovation Award and Social/Community Impact Award; and that require pupils to take an enquiring, problem solving approach to entrepreneurial learning, having first hand, ‘real life’ enterprise experiences requiring practical trading e.g. to design, produce and sell a product or service.   

 

Who can help us?

Many primary schools already engage successfully with their local business community when undertaking their enterprise activities. Support for your enterprise competition activities may be provided by a wide range of partners which include:

  • Employers; employer involvement is crucial in bringing the world of work to life and helping children to see how their enterprise activities in school are relevant to the workplace.
  • Big Ideas Wales role models
  • School alumni
  • Community organisations
  • Governors
  • Parents/carers
  • FE college 

 

When do we have to carry out our enterprise activity?

The closing date for submitting your school’s entry is 4pm on the 16 June 2025 and your enterprise must have been active at any point between 1 January 2024 and the closing date.

 

Do we have to pay an entry fee to take part?

No the competition is free to enter.

 

What age range of children can take part?

To involve as many children as possible in entrepreneurial activity, the competition will be open to pupils aged 5-11 years from any primary school in Wales.

 

Is there a limit on the number of entries from each school?

There is no limit on the number of entries each school can make to the competition.

 

Is there a maximum number of pupils that can take part?

There is no limit to the number of children involved in each entry. However, if shortlisted for an online interview with the judges there will be a limit of 4 children involved in outlining their project and answering questions

 

How is the competition structured?

After the closing date on 16 June 2025, all entries will be judged by the Enterprise Troopers team who will provide a shortlist of up to 18 entries to go forward to the online interview stage. 

Shortlisted schools will be sent details of their online interview with the panel of entrepreneur judges by 25 June 2025.

The online interviews will take place between 1 and 8 July 2025.  Details of how to access the interviews will be provided along with technical support from the Enterprise Troopers team if required.

Winners will be notified by email on 11 July 2025.

 

Can we enter more than one category?

Yes you can enter as many categories as you wish.

 

What will we have to submit as our school’s entry?

Entries must be submitted online on the Enterprise Troopers competition registration form.

The entry form requires you to provide written information about your school enterprise. A Word document of the form can be downloaded on the website so that you can prepare your answers before starting the online form. This form is for reference only. To enter the competition you must complete the online form here

 

DOCX icon

Enterprise Troopers Entry Form 2024-25.docx 

[.DOCX, 36.89 KB]

You can also upload additional supporting evidence for your entry in the following formats: 

Up to 4 single page images: (supported files types JPEG, PNG, PDF) maximum file size per image 2MB 
Video file (maximum length 2 minutes / 50MB),
Powerpoint presentation (maximum 15 slides / 50MB); or
Word document or PDF (maximum 15 pages / 50MB)


Are there any Enterprise Troopers events in 2025?

There are no in-person or online events in 2025. 


Who will judge our school’s entries?

The Enterprise Troopers management team will carry out the initial shortlisting of the competition entries.

The shortlisted entries will be judged by a panel of three bilingual entrepreneur Big Ideas Wales Role Models who will carry out the online interviews with each school.

 

Where can I find the judging criteria?

The judging criteria for each of the 3 categories can be found on the Enterprise Troopers website at this link:

https://businesswales.gov.wales/bigideas/judging-criteria-0

 

How will schools be rewarded for their participation in the competition?

£2500 will be awarded to the winners of each of the following categories:
 

  • ECO/Sustainability Award
  • Creativity/Innovation Award
  • Social/Community Impact Award

The winners of the three main category prizes are required to invest the award into curriculum/enterprise resources, materials or experiences.  They will also need to commit to the completion of a case study post competition to demonstrate how they invested the award and the impact it has had on learners.

In addition, £100 will be awarded to those schools shortlisted but not winning one of the main category prizes.

 

Is it possible for a school to win more than one of the cash prizes e.g. the same school wins the Award for best Creative and best ECO business?

No, schools can only win one of the main category prizes of £2500