National award countdown for Gourock clock makers
TIME is running out to vote for clock-making Gourock secondary pupils to be crowned Scottish business champions.
Students from St Columba’s High are in the running for the coveted Peroosh People’s Choice prize at the Young Enterprise Scotland Awards 2020 for their successful Hour Crafty Clocks venture.
The team, who produce quirky timepieces out of salvaged materials like biscuit tins and old vinyl records, are flying the flag for Inverclyde at the national competition having clocked up an astonishing five honours at the Renfrewshire Region contest in March, pictured, before the coronavirus outbreak.
The winner of the People’s Choice award will be chosen by a public vote, which closes on Monday (1 June).
The prize-giving, part of the annual Festival of Enterprise 2020, was due to be held at the RBS headquarters in Edinburgh but will now be done virtually over the internet on Tuesday (2 June) in light of lockdown restrictions.
Councillor Jim Clocherty, Convener of Education & Communities, said: “It was an astonishing feat by St Columba’s to claim five awards at the Renfrewshire Region Young Enterprise Finals and earn their place in the national final.
“Their Hour Crafty Clocks business is an imaginative way of creating a useful product out of items that would otherwise be thrown away. Not only that, their designs are really striking.
“I encourage everyone to vote for St Columba’s to help them lift this coveted national title.
“It takes a matter of seconds to vote and would bestow another richly-deserved honour on these talented entrepreneurs.”
Five of Inverclyde’s six secondaries competed in the Renfrewshire Region finals in Renfrew two months ago, including pupils from Notre Dame High in Greenock who won the ‘best trade stand’ prize for their Resail Sounds venture, creating powerless mobile phone sound amplifiers from reclaimed shipyard wood.
The Hour Crafty Clocks team from St Columba’s stole the show with their haul of five trophies for ‘best company in Inverclyde’, for social media and customer service, having the top business report, presentation and the ‘best overall company’.
They saw off competition from students in schools locally as well as across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire.
To vote for the St Columba’s High Hour Crafty Clocks team, visit https://yes.org.uk/competitions.php?finalist=930&competition=8.
Voting closes at 5pm on Monday and the winners will be revealed the next day.