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Varndean's Premier League Enterprise Challenge Success

By Richard Morris • 24 January 2018

Pupils from Varndean School have won the chance to represent Albion in the Community and Brighton & Hove Albion at this year’s Premier League Enterprise Challenge Final after they beat representatives from a host of other clubs at a regional play-off. 

The Premier League Enterprise Challenge is a national competition linked to the Premier League’s enterprise programme, which began in 2009 and is run in partnership with Sport Relief.  

It sees Year 9 and 10 students set a football business-related task by Premier League executive chairman Richard Scudamore. This season groups were asked to come up with initiatives to encourage diversity among fans and think of ways to make matchdays as enjoyable as possible.

A total of 31 Premier League and English Football League clubs entered this year’s challenge and have competed across six play-off events held at three Premier League stadiums.

Having won a local heat organised by AITC earlier this year, the Varndean pupils took part in the regional play-off at St Mary’s Stadium, the home of Southampton FC. 

They presented their plans for a Brighton & Hove Albion Community Day to a panel of guest judges and were named the winners.

This is the first year that AITC has worked with local schools to take part in the Premier League Enterprise Challenge, and Rob Josephs, the charity’s curriculum development officer, was delighted that the team had made the national final.

He said: “I would like to congratulate the team from Varndean. They did brilliantly and we are all incredibly proud of their hard work. It is great to see how much they have progressed since first getting involved in the Premier League Enterprise Challenge last November.  

“They have worked independently upon their idea and found strength and confidence they didn’t know they had. Winning the local heat here at AITC was a huge boost for them but to then go on and reach the national finals is a fantastic achievement.” 

The team from Varndean will now head to the Ernst & Young Offices in London to compete in the Premier League Enterprise Challenge Final on Monday 23rd April.