These days, school and college students have loads of opportunities to get involved in, and find out more about, social enterprise. There’s even a new Foundation for Youth Social Enterprise

You can study it in your GCSEs, do a young apprenticeship at an ethical company, get one of the ambassadors to do a talk at your school ( book an ambassador for an event here 2.35 Mb), or even start abusiness with social principles in your lunch hour, like the pupils at Sarah Bonnell school in East London have.

Starting in 2008, young people can take apprenticeships at social enterprises in London

There are actually quite a few schools and colleges in the UK already running businesses aimed at improving their community. You can read about and see videos of some of them , including a beauty salon, an events management company and a furniture recycling business.

You could also read or order a copy of Trailblazers – a colourful magazine full of stories about teenagers and twenty-somethings who run fantastic social enterprises.

Have a go

Are you inspired by them? If so, have a think about what you could do in your area or community and speak to a teacher about it. If you can’t find one that’ll take you seriously, try another! Be persistent and be passionate - it’s what’ll make you succeed.

You can also go to organisations like UnLtd and Make Your Mark with your ideas. They can help you get your plans off the ground and sometimes give you a wad of cash to get you on your way.

Want a simple guide to social enterprise?

To understand more about how social enterprises work, a fun new info booklet called the Fresh Guide has now been published. It’s been produced by a cutting edge publishing company and works as a clear A-Z on social enterprise for students and tutors. If you’d like a copy, email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

For more info on what the young ambassadors studied, and how they got into social enterprise, checkout their individual pages. They are Kresse , Sam , Matt Kepple , Emily , Saeeda , Tim Campbell , Peter Holbrook , and Matt Stevenson-Dodd .