Peter Jones has today announced a brand new enterprise competition in schools to inspire Britain’s young people to start their own business.

In response to repeated calls for a national enterprise challenge in schools, the new campaign - Tycoon in Schools - will help drive forward Peter Jones’s mission to put enterprise at the heart of the education system in Britain.

Following Prime Minister David Cameron’s pledge in March 2011 to offer support for every school in England to run its own business, Peter Jones announced his intention to launch a nationwide enterprise competition in schools in October 2011. Today, he is delighted to announce the launch of Tycoon in Schools.

The competition will kick-off in November, with money being loaned to schools so that young people can launch their own venture. Peter Jones will personally back the initiative, injecting ￡100,000 of his own cash into schools across the country. Pupils will then be invited to pitch their business ideas to their tutor for seed funding in order to kick-start their business and put them on the road to making money.

From 1st November 2012 participating students will have one month to start a business, make a profit and realise their entrepreneurial ambitions. They will be given a Tycoon Loan to help them get their business idea off the ground and will be challenged to make as much profit as they can within the month.

At the close of the competition, students will repay their original loans to the Tycoon Bank, and remaining profits can be used by the school or donated to local charitable causes.

The budding entrepreneurs, who will compete for the top spot on the Tycoon League Table, will be unveiled at the end of November, rewarding the most successful Schools and young entrepreneurs and celebrating their achievements.

The challenge champions entrepreneurship in schools by supporting, encouraging and ultimately rewarding school children as they bring their business ideas to life. By putting their ideas into action, the initiative will enable students to ‘learn by doing’, while picking up valuable business and life skills along the way.

Peter Jones CBE commented:

“For too long schools across Britain have been calling out for an enterprise challenge to encourage their young people to ‘dream big’.

“Enterprise is the missing piece of the jigsaw in schools today. You can’t start early enough when it comes to learning about enterprise and through Tycoon in Schools we hope to reach young people of all ages and inspire them to realise their potential

“This is just the beginning of an exciting new campaign to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs to go for it. Our aim is to grow the competition each year, involving more schools and young people across the country and inspiring them to live out their entrepreneurial dreams.”

Schools are invited to register their interest in the competition by visiting: www.tycooninschools.com

Schools can also send a message on twitter to @Tycooninschools