Double win for Orkney twins at Young Enterprise UK finals

Twin students Arthur and Benjamin Derrick have taken a distinctive Orkney feathered favourite and turned it into an enterprising business opportunity – bagging a catalogue of national awards.

The brains behind the Orkney College UHI Young Enterprise team “The Three Puffketeers”, Arthur and Ben combined puffins, known as “tammie norries” locally, with an idea for creating embroidered tech bags.

The hand designed and locally embroidered bags sold out in two hours last month raising nearly £280 in profits for the RSPB in Orkney.

This was just the beginning of their success story as The Three Puffketeers was awarded the Team Programme Company of the Year at the Scottish and UK Finals, 1^st place for the Best Logo award and 2^nd places for the Best Advert and Best Presentation awards.

The announcement was made at the UK finals ceremony online on Wednesday 15 June.

This is the first time in 10 years that a YE team at Orkney College UHI has been able to compete nationally, so Susan Mackay, Lecturer in Business Studies & Inclusive Practice, says they are all delighted with the students’ success.

She said: “I have been supporting Young Enterprise teams at Orkney College UHI for around 8 years and it is wonderful to now be able to compete at both Scottish and National levels through the Team Programme.

“I am very proud of The Three Puffketeers and the work that Ben and Arthur have achieved to be able to get through all the stages of the competition at such high standards and have now won both the Scottish and UK finals.

“Ben and Arthur came to Orkney College UHI to join the Future Tracks course to gain confidence, new experiences and have key social interactions as part of a larger group. Ben and Arthur have been home schooled all their lives and this was a big transition to move to mainstream education.  They ran their Young Enterprise company by themselves, and they adapted to the pressures of making all the decisions by themselves as well as running the business as a pair, very well.”

Susan said both have grown in confidence as a result of the course and business experience.

“Ben is a very quiet student and when he first came to Orkney College UHI and through the Young Enterprise Team programme, he began to feel comfortable presenting information to others and has now shown excellent consideration in his thoughts and ideas.  He was very accurate in the work that he produced and showed a great level of commitment to his course and the business.

“Arthur is a much more confident student and now loves telling people about their business and has also taken on a great deal of responsibility in liaising with other staff members he has never met to make arrangements for the business.”

Arthur said he has learned skills in marketing, logo design and finance skills which he is also going to use in a future creative course. 

Ben said that he learned skills such as graphic design, patience and problem solving which he is going to use in his future courses which the Future Tracks course and Young Enterprise has helped him choose. 

Both students are continuing their studies at Orkney College UHI after the summer and have gained valuable business and design skills through their Young Enterprise and Art & Design classes on the Future Tracks course. 

Matthew Reid, Chairman of Young Enterprise Orkney said: “‘The Three Puffketeers can be very proud of their achievements in winning these awards. It was clear from speaking with the team that they are very knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their product and have put a lot of thought into all aspects of the process. On behalf of the Young Enterprise Orkney Team, I would like to congratulate Arthur and Benjamin on their success with The Three Puffketeers.”