Inspiring Enterprise in Our Schools since 2005
Future Business Magnates is a school enterprise competition for Year 8 students in County Durham.
Open to all secondary schools, the competition allows young people to develop a new product or service based on an annual theme, exploring how to create a business in a fun and exciting environment.
Each school forms a team of 8 students to compete in the competition which runs from November until June each year.
Teams participate in six challenges designed to help them create and develop their business idea. Each challenge allows the teams to score points that go towards their final score and at the end of the competition a winner, runners-up and category prizes are awarded.
Bringing Students, Schools and Businesses Together
Students
By taking part in Future Business Magnates students not only learn new skills and have the experience of creating a new product, they are also able to develop their communication skills and how to work effectively as a team.
Schools
As well as introducing participating students to enterprise and the world of work, FBM can also help schools achieve some of their Gatsby benchmarks.
The competition also allows schools to work closely with businesses and develop fruitful long term relationships with some of County Durham’s cutting edge businesses.
Businesses
There are a number of ways in which businesses can get involved with the competition. The most simple and straightforward way for a business to get involved is to partner with the school and support their team as they develop their business idea.
Businesses can bring their special expertise and their unique point of view to the project that the students develop.
Parents
Parents can learn more about what it means to start a business by observing the work that their children do in FBM.
By encouraging and supporting their child’s project they can gain an insight into the day-to-day running of a new business start-up and understand the new skills team members are learning. They can also bring their own unique experience and their point of view to the table so that children have a wider knowledge base to draw upon when developing their business.
Get involved
Whether you’re a school or a business, it’s easy to get involved in the Future Business Magnates programme.
Before you apply, you can learn more about the Future Business Magnates programme, including benefits for all participants and frequently asked questions.
Alternatively register your interest in the competition and a member of the FBM team will be in touch.
Ready to join the Future Business Magnates Programme?
2026 Competition Winners
The 2026 winners were Hermitage Academy, supported by their business partner Durham City Incubator. The team rose to the challenge of developing a product or service that would celebrate their town and help to improve their community.
Following extensive product testing, the team developed Chester le Trails, a comprehensive walking trails guide around Chester le Street, exploring local landmarks. They developed professionally produced booklets and had thought of every aspect of their business.
They achieved a total score of 941 points out of a maximum of 1000 and the student’s final presentation highlighted that they were a very solid team.
Runners up:
- 2nd Place – This or That – Tanfield School, partnered by Marmax Products
- 3rd Place – Tours & Trinkets – Durham Johnston School, partnered by Erwin Hymer
Group Category winners
- Most Resilient Team – The Lamp Café – King James I Academy, partnered by Stiller Warehousing
- Most Original Idea – Histories Mysteries – Wolsingham School, partnered by Waterstons
- Best Prototype – Histables – North Durham Academy, partnered by TEDCO
- Brian Manning Award for Best Use of Networks – The Bishop of Time – Bishop Barrington School, partnered by South West Durham Training
- Best Pitch – Chester le Trails – Hermitage Academy, partnered by Durham City Incubator
“It was fun to see what actually goes behind the scenes in a business and how it’s all put together. The skills that we learned during FBM will definitely be good for our futures.”
Team Member Faye
Testimonials
-
This exciting competition aims to inspire young people and help develop the skills needed to start and develop a business.
Sarah Slaven, Challenge 6 judge -
Year after year it’s great to see so many positive outcomes for the students, the schools and the businesses involved.
Sarah Slaven, Challenge 6 judge -
Students are introduced to possible career pathways and develop key communications skills, and businesses are given the opportunity to inspire young people whilst learning more about the world of education.
Sarah Slaven, Challenge 6 judge