Connect Dacorum is again organising the Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge for 2025/26 and we are looking for Dragons to mentor the teams. The challenge has been running for 12 years and has raised a whopping £155,130 for local charities, and have seen 865 students take part. Not only have these students learnt business related skills but also very important soft skills such as communication, working in a team, perseverance, etc.

So what is the challenge? – Year 12 students from local secondary schools will be entering teams of up to 10 pupils as the Apprentices. The teams are challenged to turn £100 into £1000 or more for a local charity by means of business-related ideas. The team is matched with a business mentor (the Dragon) and also a charity. The challenge starts on the 22nd September 2025 and culminates in a finals evening at the end of March 2026.

We’ve had some absolutely amazing Dragons over the years and are again looking for business mentors (the Dragons) to take part this year. The Dragon’s involvement most importantly, is your time. You will need to attend a minimum of five meetings and help the teams develop their ideas, form themselves into a working team with defined roles and write a business plan. However, the most successful teams met regularly from October to February to keep motivation and organisation going, although some of this can be done via emails and WhatsApp. If you think you could spare the resource and time for the challenge, do register your interest.

So why should you take part? Participation in the Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge offers a win-win opportunity for all parties involved, creating the opportunity for excellent partnerships between local community groups and charities, businesses and young people, creating a stronger community over the long term. It provides a structured means to promote and encourage engagement between charity/community groups, local businesses and schools. It helps raise the profile of your organisation and the third sector in the area and it is a great development tool for an employee’s continual professional development.

Rachel Redondo and Amanda Hersham were dragons from their business Twenty-Two and said of the challenge “This year’s Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge has played an instrumental part in allowing us to forge new relationships as a local business with our chosen school and incredible charity partner – The Blue Tangerine Federation. Our team of students were forthcoming in taking advantage of every learning opportunity and even went on to raise £7,095.87 which beat the all-time record for the Most Money Earned award, something which we will be forever proud of. We only hope that we are lucky enough to take part in next year’s Dragons’ Apprentice Challenge again!”

If you would like to take part or have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact cindy@communityactiondacorum.org.uk.