A BARROW school has cooked up a socially-minded contribution to a young enterprise scheme.

Newbarns Primary School teamed up with Carlisle-based Orian Solutions Limited to feed the homeless and help sharpen students’ business acumen, as part of the Bright Stars programme - an entrepreneurial scheme for schools.

Pupils from Year 5 at Newbarns made soup, which they then sold at Schneider Road Community Hub and donated to Furness Homeless Shelter.

The Bright Stars initiative - funded by the Centre for Leadership and Performance - sees each participating school given £50 to invest in an enterprise scheme, the results of which are later considered for a number of awards.

The school that raises the most money in Cumbria is invited to a prize-giving ceremony in Carlisle.

Newbarns' children took on the challenge with the wider community in mind, devising a social enterprise scheme . Their budding business skills were also tested as part of the programme. They applied for and executed marketing, sales and cook roles among others as part of the project.

Gary Birkett, head teacher at Newbarns School, said of his pupils’ charitable efforts: “We’re hoping to raise as much money as possible - certainly a good deal more than the £50 stake - although it’s still very early days.

“We’re confident our ‘Newbarns Super Soup’ will make a profit for school and our chosen charity.

“We are especially proud that the soups we make are wholesome and nutritious and very grateful to the support received from Orian staff Len and Clary in helping our children learn about a successful business model,” he said.

“The children have certainly been very enthusiastic about this project, which also of course has nutritional benefits. as well as educational and community-focussed ones.

“The pupils who delivered the soup were in raptures and the project has certainly helped instil an entrepreneurial spirit among the children involved.”