Hillcrest kids are on the money

Youngsters at Hillcrest Community Infant School impressed staff and parents with business skills as they turned their classroom into a Cancer Research Charity Shop as part of Enterprise Week at the school.

The week is a nationwide event started by Enterprise UK, with the aim of promoting positive attitudes towards entrepreneurship, increasing business skills and confidence and facilitating access to international networks and knowledge.

Hillcrest year one and two teacher Matthew Dodsworth said that the students were keen to get involved in the national scheme.

“We took the idea of running our own charity shop, and we asked the children to think about everything - from the name of it to the logo and where all the money would go,” he said.

“Then we got them to think about enterprise skills and how to bring the community together for a good cause.

Mr Dodsworth said that they chose to donate all funds raised to Cancer Research UK because it is a charity so close to so many people’s hearts.

“I just think that it’s a charity which will touch everyone’s life at some point,” he said.

“We wanted to look at the positive side of it and focus on the work that people are doing to help make people get better, and we wanted to help the children feel as if they were really making a difference.”

Parents donated a range of things for the kids to sell, including CDs, DVDs, books, fancy dress costumes and even a toy kitchen.

As well as coming to terms with the world of business, the children also learned a great deal about cancer and how the charity does its best to help sufferers of the disease and their families.

“All of the children from across the school came to visit the shop to see what they could buy and learn about the charity too,” said Mr Dodsworth.

“The parents of my class came to join us to shop around and make donations and in the end we raised over £240 and counting.”

Mr Dodsworth added: “The kids very much enjoyed the whole experience and we were greatly helped by Sheila Jennings and Amanda Warrant from Cancer Research UK so I’d like to thank them as well as all of the parents who donated and the children for all of their hard work.”

- For more info or to make a donation you can visit www.cancerresearchuk.org