THE first group of students has graduated from Malvern's Peter Jones Enterprise Academy.

Beryl Cuckney, a local business woman, launched the academy in collaboration with the Dragons' Den entrepreneur in September last year, teaching the course herself, with support from local housing association Fortis Living and other businesses across the area. Her aim is to support young people – from underprivileged or non-traditional education backgrounds – to gain enterprise skills.

Miss Cuckney said: "I wanted to put something back into the local community. Everybody has so much more to give than they think and I wanted to look for those who have been left behind. I take a completely unique approach by bringing the community together to support these young people. The reward is that they all have a different future now with many different options. I now want to look at how the Academy moves forward."

Mr Jones added: "With record levels of youth unemployment, I believe it is a priority to inspire more young people across Britain to consider a different career path, an entrepreneurial one.”

The four students – Qaylee Hill, Sam Finch, Gemma Pearson and Amy Bains – all completed the level two certification in understanding enterprise and entrepreneurship, the equivalent of two GCSEs. They finished their studies in just over 14 weeks, having previously been NEETs (not in employment, education or training). Their course fees were met by Fortis Living.

The students came together with tutor Beryl Cuckney, alongside family, friends and a representative from the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, for a graduation celebration at Malvern Football Club.