Padiham pupils grind out coffee business

Pop Up Farms’ Paul Clarke with Richard Redfern, 11 Pop Up Farms’ Paul Clarke with Richard Redfern, 11

ENTERPRISING schoolchildren are ‘grinding out’ results by creating a ‘pop-up’ coffee shop to sell refreshments outside football matches.

The pupils at St Leonard’s, in Padiham, have designed and commissioned a prototype of a pedal cycle which will also double up as a unit to sell hot beverages.

A company called The Thoughtful Coffee Company has been set up and they hope to arrange meetings with Burnley FC bosses soon to discuss opportunities to sell their wares next season.

The school will also look at other suitable places where the children’s wares could be sold.

Headteacher Julie Bradley said the exercise was educational in a number of ways. She said: “There are so many facets that the children touch on.

“They have designed the vehicle and a prototype is being developed by a designer in Vancouver Island, Canada. We have a partnership with a school in Uganda so there’s a desire to enter into trade to source the coffee beans directly from them.

“Those in the group have learned about the commodities markets and done research on the cost of a cup of coffee in the high street chains. I’m thrilled at their appetite to learn more and the spirit of enterprise they are showing. Because the venture’s called Thoughtful Coffee they’ve even been saying people will not be having a drink, but rather a ‘think’.”

The group is being advised by Paul Clarke of Todmorden based company, Incredible edible.

Comments(7)

2 for 5p says...
9:42pm Tue 5 Jun 12

I would like to know were the profits are going, no doubt it will be to the school, even though they get there funding from LEA.
They would also be charging VAT and tax otherwise they have unfair compitition over the other traders

Excluded again says...
7:36am Wed 6 Jun 12

Most businesses would think that having their competitors run by 11 year olds was advantage enough.

Kids do something positive - there just has to be a reason to slag them off, hasn't there?

2 for 5p says...
1:50pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Not when your competitors are not paying tax NI and probobly have charity status as well

ste.g says...
4:42pm Wed 6 Jun 12

2 for 5p wrote:
I would like to know were the profits are going, no doubt it will be to the school, even though they get there funding from LEA.
They would also be charging VAT and tax otherwise they have unfair compitition over the other traders
dont pay vat on coffee

radical radish says...
10:48pm Wed 6 Jun 12

Paul Clarke is not part of Incredible Edible and I wish this paper would stop reporting that he is.
It is simply not true

Pop-Up-Farm says...
5:07pm Thu 14 Jun 12

Dr Paul Clarke fully agrees with this comment by radical radish, and would be very grateful if the paper refrains from making this link as he resigned from the board in December 2011. Many thanks.

seeds for development says...
11:53am Fri 15 Jun 12

2 for 5p wrote:
I would like to know were the profits are going, no doubt it will be to the school, even though they get there funding from LEA.
They would also be charging VAT and tax otherwise they have unfair compitition over the other traders
The profits will be returned to the source of the coffee - the farming communities in northern Uganda that grow it. People who are recovering from a 20 year war that destroyed their livelihoods, homes and their lives. By drinking Thoughtful Coffee, you will be supporting the local economy but also people the world seems to have forgotten.

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