29/04/2026
👏 Our Young People have now all pitched their social enterprises to Aegon UK Dragons in Edinburgh, Peterborough, and Essex. All were supported on the day by their mentors, who have built amazing relationships during our partnership. They have shared their skills and experience, inspiring and supporting the young people build their confidence, life skills, and entrepreneurial mindset. There were nerves, we can’t lie, but we know having their mentor there, as a supportive, friendly face in the audience helped give them that extra boost on the day. 🌟
There was also some friendly competition between our mentors trying to sneak a peek at the Dragons' winners before they were announced, but we managed to keep it a secret as our Dragons had a very difficult choice to make.
One of our Dragons, Ian Brady-Price, Head of Service – Workplace Operations for Aegon UK shared, "The Dragons' Den was fabulous with so much enthusiasm, passion, teamwork, and really credible Q&A showing amazing resilience for year 6 pupils. The emotional intelligence to their chosen cause was empathetic and very considerate with kindness ….blown away on the confidence."
Ian is not the only one, we continue to be blown away by the innovative ideas and social issues the young people have chosen to tackle through our social enterprise schools programme, we have some incredibly inspiring young leaders who we are sure will make a huge impact in the future. 💡
The Coach to Succeed mentor partnership with Aegon UK has helped deepen the impact for the young people and provided some incredibly inspirational mentors who really have opened up the world of opportunity. We also know our young people have inspired our mentors and helped their own personal development. Amazing value for all who have taken part.
A highlight was seeing our mentors receive their certificates which were presented by the young people they have supported over the year. 🎖️
These partnerships are critical in supporting young people who face many barriers, we would love to be able to meet the demand and are always seeking new partners like Aegon UK who want to truly make a difference whilst engaging and developing their talent. So, if your organisation would like to support the communities you are part of in a meaningful way email [email protected] and one of our team will get in touch. 🙋♀️
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The City of Edinburgh Council:
- Craigmount High School
- St Augustine's RC High School
Peterborough City Council
- St John's Church School
Essex County Council
- Barnes Farm Primary School