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Talk about Newsnight

Make your mark with a tenner

Cathay Craftz, Manchester Academy

  • Newsnight
  • 1 Feb 07, 08:41 PM

cathay_203300.jpgIn a scheme that hopes to encourage a generation of new young entrepreneurs,

Cathay Craftz tells Newsnight how it plans to turn its pool of ten pound notes into a healthy profit...

We've got ten pounds each, one month and our challenge is to make a profit in the month! We've chosen to make origami and are selling this to staff, students and businesses.

Cathay Craftz comprises of four students from Manchester Academy; Yahui Zhang, Marcelle Tompkins, Yidan Liu and Jamie Barker. We are the directors of Cathay Craftz, and we have set up our business to take part in the Make Your Mark with a Tenner competition.

One of our directors, Yahui, had the idea for the business and the Make Your Mark Challenge was an ideal opportunity to get some funds - and some motivation! Yahui chose to bring Marcelle on board, having worked with him before in Young Enterprise and then they invited Jamie and Yidan to join them.

Our products are simple. Origami pieces made, wherever possible, from recycled paper and donations of gift-wrap from the staff and students. We've come up with a list of prices, and we've rounded up some (willing!) volunteers...

We were really lucky that we got chosen to take part in some filming for Newsnight. They came to the Academy and interviewed us all, watched our first board meeting, Stephanie the Economics editor even had school dinner with us! During the day we went up to Sweet Mandarin (a restaurant in Manchester's hip Northern Quarter) and we pitched our idea to one of the owners, Lisa Tse. Lisa was good enough to give us our first order. She wants four big mobiles to hang in the restaurant for Valentines Day - so the clock is already ticking!

Our aim is to make 拢500. Part of the profits will pay for staff and materials. But as well, we're trying to raise money to sponsor students from our partner school, Toli Secondary School in South Africa. At Toli it costs 拢86 to pay for a student to complete three years of their education. One of our teachers has visited them and since she returned we've been thinking of ways to raise money for the students there.

Just think, our month-long challenge could make a real difference to the futures of students all the way in South Africa!

Comments  Post your comment

  • 1.
  • At 03:49 PM on 21 Feb 2007,
  • eleanor blake wrote:

i think that the cathey crafts is a very good idea. i go to the same school and my best friends are involved in it. and i know how hard that they work!

  • 2.
  • At 08:06 PM on 21 Feb 2007,
  • Margaret wrote:

What a fantastic scheme this has been. The report was great and I have been following the blog with interest.

Well done Manchester Academy. You should be very proud of yourselves. I hope you all go on to be very successful in the future.

  • 3.
  • At 11:58 AM on 23 Feb 2007,
  • kyle Mottley wrote:

I go to manchester academy i think that well will win.

  • 4.
  • At 03:07 PM on 07 Mar 2007,
  • loren and charlotte wrote:

Hi, wea re in Cathay Craftz and we have never drank alcohol. They are teaching us about profits so that we understand what its like to make a profit and business. We think it is a great idea! We learnt a lot. by for now love us x x x x

  • 5.
  • At 06:22 PM on 22 Mar 2007,
  • Ka Yan wrote:

Hey, I'm a helper in Cathy Craftz and it has been really fun, even tjough the year 10 and 11s have their GCSE they still come to help, as much as possible!

  • 6.
  • At 03:13 PM on 23 Mar 2007,
  • Sidrah wrote:

Hi

Cathy craft is a great success for the youngsters and for the school. This is great chance for the students of manchester academy to make their mark.

  • 7.
  • At 03:17 PM on 23 Mar 2007,
  • Sidrah wrote:

Hi

Cathy craft is a great success for the youngsters and for the school. This is great chance for the students of manchester academy to make their mark.

  • 8.
  • At 12:48 PM on 09 Oct 2007,
  • Marcelle Tompkins wrote:

Hi everyone,

im Marclle and am in Cathay Craftz. i would just like to saay a big thank you to everyone involved in this project and everyone who has gave their support.

About the comment posted by Tony from SW London, i think it is typical that as soon as the youngsters of today achieve something they are downgraded by the older generations. I would like to unvite Tony to Manchester Academy as i know that every student there is a hard working one, who us committed to achieving the best they possibly can. Manchester in the past has recieved a bad reputation but with fantastic scheme's like this and the belief of people like Oli Barret, we can move away from the past and build a futrue that is bright for EVERYONE!!!! Tony if people dont give us youngsters a chance then all we will do is become failures, i would like to see more of these projects incorperated into the education system as an incentive to youngsters to start thinking about the future NOW as it is only around the corner!!!
Thank you.

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