Enterprise

Annesley’s entrepreneurial program ‘Enterprise’ is a leading program in primary schools and seeks to develop entrepreneurially minded young people with the attitudes and skills they need to successfully navigate the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. All students from Reception to Year 6 engage in entrepreneurial learning every week of every school year. The entrepreneurial way of working requires creativity, problem solving, perseverance and collaboration as our students use their strengths and passions to shape their world.

‘The establishment of Enterprise at Annesley encourages students to become active, compassionate life long learners.’
Annesley IB Report 2022

Increasing levels of Entreprenurial skill and challenge are introduced to our students at age-appropriate stages

• Reception – Year 1
  Enterprise in Reception and Year 1 provides students with regular time to explore and develop their interests, skills and passions in creative ways through play.   Students are encouraged to persevere, refine and extend their ideas and creations over time
• Year 2 – 3
  Enterprise in Y2-3 provides students with regular extended time to explore and develop their ideas in innovative ways, with the goal to develop a product or service that serves an authentic use for themselves or others.
• Year 4 – 6
  Through collaborative Inquiry and engagement with experts from the field of industry, students take a deeper look at how to establish and run a successful enterprise. Enterprise challenges our older students to plan, design, test, establish and run a product or service that:
  – Solves a problem and/or fills a need in the community
  – Is unique
  – Is sustainable and ethical

Year 6 Enterprise groups pitch their innovative ideas to local industry experts at our annual ‘Patchell Pitch’ event in Gillingham Hall.

Annesley’s Enterprise program has been developed through collaborative research-based projects with distinguished educators, including Professor Yong Zhao of the University of Kansas and Dr. Michael Bunce of Flinders University. We have presented our Enterprise model at the IB World Conference 2023, Metapraxis Symposium 2022, and the Lutheran Contemporary Learning Tour in 2022, 2023, and 2024. We continue to connect with progressively minded educators and schools, hosting visits from multiple institutions each year. For more information, please contact our Director of Learning and Teaching, David Taylor, at taylord@annesley.sa.edu.au.

‘To succeed in this ever-changing world, students need to be able to think like entrepreneurs: resourceful, flexible, creative, and global.’
Professor Yong Zhao, University of Kansas