On Tuesday, May 26, 2009 we reported that...

A TEAM of imaginative entrepreneurs from Dumbarton Academy swept the board at the recent Young Enterprise Dunbartonshire annual awards.

The Young Enterprise group called The Nine Misskateers took five of the nine awards up for grabs, including the prestigious gong of Top Team of the Year.

The girls — Gillian Milloy, Ashleigh Robertson, Louise Brown, Rebecca Lynn, Evelyn Major, Donna Morrison, Emma Ritchie, Rasiba Norin and Heather Nisbet — were presented with the Aggreko Award for Best Trade Fair Stand, the Strathclyde University Marketing Award for their marketing campaign, the Clydebank College Award for the Best Presentation and the YED Award for the Best Company Report.

And now they will represent Dunbartonshire at the Scottish finals when they compete against schools from all over the country.

The Misskateers wrote, designed and published a children’s book designed to introduce youngsters to the delights of the Dumbarton area.

In the presentation the group explained they had come up with a hero for the story, named The Big Tea Search, in the form of an elephant called Brucey, modelled on the town’s coat of arms.

The girls held focus groups, spoke to the children’s librarian, visited primary schools and researched the top 10 children’s books before beginning the design work.

They found a printer, negotiated a deal and organised outlets, before organising fundraisers and researching various methods of binding the book.

The book proved hugely popular and was a sell out.

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The girls made a profit of 35 per cent on their project and are now considering a new print run.

They said that they had enjoyed the project immensely and were all proud to call themselves Misskateers.

In his speech, Jack Rudram ,chairman of Young Enterprise Dunbartonshire congratulated Dumbarton Academy on its success and paid tribute to the group’s link teacher Carol Cook and business adviser, Paul Sheerin of Polaroid.

Mr Rudram pointed out that while 11 teams had started the session, only four had made it to the end, which was great credit to them.

Ms Cook said: “I’m immensely proud of the girls.

“They are an amazingly talented group of young women with a strong work ethic.”

Jo Swinson MP was also a special guest at the event and gave a speech.

Runners-up were Keep Me Bags (Lenzie Academy), Coda (Bearsden Academy) and Namasari (St Ninian’s High, Kirkintilloch).

A Special Merit Award went to Merklands Special School for its stand at the Christmas Trade Fair in Glasgow.

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