Devon beach education company in top UK 100

Devon’s Beach Schools South West company – which puts the coast onto the educational curriculum – has been honoured at 10 Downing Street after being recognised by an organisation promoting small businesses.

The not-for-profit community company is among 100 across the UK chosen by the organisation Small Business Saturday, which supports and promotes smaller companies.

Beach Schools South West takes children out on to beaches in the region to teach them subjects tied in with the National Curriculum, including ecology, geology and conservation.

For the last five years, Small Business Saturday has been helping a wide range of companies to raise their profile via its social media platforms, and running a campaign encouraging the public to support their local enterprises each year on December 2nd.
Each year the organisation selects 100 firms to feature on its website in the 100 days leading up to December 2nd, and all of these companies are invited to a celebration at the Prime Minister’s residence.

“It was amazing,” said Beach Schools South West co-director Tess Stuber. “It’s great for small businesses to have the opportunity to be recognised, and to network with each other. I met other people from an incredible range of enterprises from all over the UK. And it was a fantastic experience to be invited into No 10 too.”
Speaking at the reception, Stephen Barclay, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, said: “It’s great to welcome so many business owners to Number 10 today to show our appreciation for the crucial contribution they make to Britain. Small businesses are vital to a thriving and competitive economy that is fit for the future, so it’s great to see that the number of small businesses in the UK has been growing in recent years. We hope the country will join us in championing the UK’s small businesses, and support them this Saturday.”

Michelle Ovens MBE, the Director of Small Business Saturday, said: “Small Business Saturday shines a spotlight on our local businesses to show how vitally important they are to individual communities and the UK as a whole. We are encouraging everyone to support the small businesses near them this Saturday, by shopping local, and also giving them their backing into 2018 and beyond.” 

It was the second time in a month that Beach Schools South West have made the trip to Westminster, having been presented with an international environmental award at the House of Commons on November 6th.

The Green Apple Silver award, rewarding environmental best practice around the world, recognised their commitment to taking schoolchildren out of the classroom and into the natural coastal scene to help them learn hands-on about subjects within the National Curriculum including nature, marine wildlife and ecology.