Wednesday 29 October 2025
We are delighted to report our NCEA Level 2 and level 3 Business Studies students received a number of awards for their achievements at the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) Tāmaki Makaurau Regional Awards ceremony on Tuesday 21 October. I would like to acknowledge Business Studies teachers Maria Mekala and Jay Kim for their guidance, support and mentoring of our students. It has been quite some time since we have had a team represent the Central Auckland region at the YES National awards.
Sleep Safe
Lexi Hope (Year 13, Taylor), Emilio Nooyen (Year 13, Marsden), Lucas Winn (13 MAR) and Cooper Fenwick (Year 13, Peart) were crowned Company of the Year and Regional Winner of Auckland Central, thanks to their innovation and convincing presentation that impressed a wide panel of New Zealand business leaders.
This team will represent Auckland Central at the YES National Awards in Wellington on 4 December. This means two members will now prepare another pitch of their product - a sustainable 3D-printed smartphone radiation-blocking container and present to the judges. They will be up against the winners of each region around the country for the National Company of the Year which is announced at the Awards Ceremony.
InfinitySports
Lilly Twort (Year 12, Marion Bruce), Jetta McKenzie (Year 12, Marion Bruce), Mia Eriksen (Year 12, Taylor), Georgia Williams (Year 12, Taylor) and Johann von Ardenne (Year 12, School) came away with two awards: Excellence in Business Management and Jetta McKenzie was named as Deloitte Individual of the Year.
Their business promoted economic accessibility to sportswear for underprivileged children, donating profits from clothing sales towards supporting charities. They showed great effort, enthusiasm, teamwork and learning this year engaging in the programme.
Boatie
Fergus Meredith (Year 13, Peart), Matt Ellis ( Year 13, Peart), Hugo Handley (Year 13, Marsden) and Josh McKay (Year 13, School) received the award for Excellence in Technology, thanks to their innovative website and mobile app that connects boat-owners with the general public.
Their service simplified boat chartering, allowing users to browse, book, pay and review their use of boats listed by other users on the site (think Airbnb but for water vehicles). They showed resilience this year, taking pains to learn about app development, insurance and law throughout the process.
Spiked
Chloe Vickers (Year 13, Taylor), William Glover (Year 13, Peart), Noah Petelo (Year 13, Marsden), Eden Weck (Year 13, Taylor) and Charlie Batt (Year 13, Marsden) were selected as Finalists in the Auckland Central region, having the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. Their product was a biodegradable sticker lid that could be applied to cups and glasses, preventing drink-spiking and raising awareness of this danger in our society.
Spiked, as the top scoring team (based on Challenge 1-4 points) in Central region, have a second chance to pitch for the Wild Card spot at YES Nationals. They will be pitching on Monday 3 November against 9 other teams in the country.
Kai Cycle
Arki Hunter (Year 13, Middlemore), Charlie Foote (Year 13, Taylor) and Millie Sanderson (Year 13, Marion Bruce) were also selected as Finalists in the Auckland Central region, having the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. Their service idea was an AI-powered database program that notifies charities and non-profits of useable food waste disposed by food retailers and wholesalers, with the aim of reducing food waste throughout Aotearoa.
There were six finalist teams out of 104 teams in total in Central Region and we were very fortunate to have three teams: Sleep Safe, Spiked and Kai Cycle as part of the top finalists. We are very proud of all of our teams who represented the College with pride.
Sharon Lofroth