THE Spanish Town-based St Jago High School was recently crowned winner of the 2017 JA Company of Entrepreneurs p rogramme (JACE), run by Junior Achievement Jamaica.

St Jago’s company, called Dessin Chic, producers of smartphone stands, emerged the winners from a field of more than 40 grade 9 to 12 student companies which participated in the 2016/2017 JACE Programme.

Kingston College’s company, called Forever Natural, producers of natural juices, was placed second, while Belmont Academy’s, Belmont Enterprise, producers of Lip Balms, was placed third.

The awards were handed out at Junior Achievement’s 7th annual Technology and Innovation Conference held at the University of the West Indies on Saturday. St Jago was awarded the winning trophy and $500,000.

The top-three schools were selected based on their business plan and final business report, which reflected how they operated their companies over the 2016/17 school year. Schools were also able to gain points through participation in the National Careers Week regional Forum, where their businesses were pitched to judges; participation in social media and marketing competitions; and their activities around corporate social responsibility during the year.

According to Careen James Barnett, economics teacher at St Jago High School and also the advisor for the JACE programme, the students won as their “dedication and commitment to the development of the product, kept them motivated and determined to win, especially since they were placed second last year”. She said they put their all into ensuring that they covered the weak areas from last year to guarantee the top place.

In the upcoming academic year, USAID, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information, will support an expanded format which will see the integration of the programme into the educational system, which will see all grade nine students across the 168 high schools in Jamaica participating.

Class teachers are to receive comprehensive training from Junior Achievement Jamaica as well as the complete programme material needed to fully deliver the programme to students. Through practical applications, students will learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship so they understand the main requirements to start and operate a business. After grade 9, interested students may continue as an after -school club from grades 10 through to 12.