Grade 7 entrepreneurs take over Curro Rivonia market
Stalls offering games, treats and handcrafted items give young business minds a taste of real-world commerce.
Grade 7 learners transformed the grounds of Curro Rivonia into a bustling marketplace during their annual Entrepreneurship Day recently.
Colourful stalls lined the grounds as learners put months of planning, budgeting, market research and teamwork into practice, selling items ranging from wors rolls, pancakes and pizzas to stationery, sweet treats and cold beverages to beat the sun.
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Curro Rivonia Economics and Management Sciences teacher Jessica Pierce said the event brings entrepreneurship out of the textbook.
“Entrepreneurship Day is a marked project for Term 3 in Grade 7. It’s in the curriculum, something that the schools have to do, but we make it big at our school,” said Pierce.
She added that the learners have been planning their businesses since April, conducting market research, deciding what to sell and determining how much their products should cost.
“They buy everything themselves and organise in their group who is going to spend what to keep it equal and fair,” said Pierce. “The school provides tables where they keep the items they are selling.”
Among the many businesses on display was a games and entertainment stall run by Alexia Kondiah and her partner Caylin Deyzel. Their attraction, Aim It to Win It Ring Toss Challenge, was designed to draw customers in with a mixture of skill, suspense and prizes.
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Players paid R15 for two rings and attempted to land them on a target before getting the chance to pop a balloon containing a mystery prize.
“We wanted something fun to play,” said Kondiah. “We came up with this game because kids like to play things, they like to throw things, they like to win fun prizes, and it’s all about the hype and excitement.”
For fellow learners Advay Ramsunkar and Shrish Sai Naicker, the challenge was slightly different. With several stalls competing for customers in the sweet-treat market, they realised they needed to give shoppers a reason to choose their business.
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Rather than selling individual items, they opted to create combos, bundling products together to make their offering more attractive.
Their approach highlights the kind of practical lessons the day was designed to teach: understanding competition, identifying what customers want and finding creative ways to stand out.
Pierce said all the funds raised will be split equally among the group members. “I advised the parents that if they’re helping the kids, they should give loans, not donations,” she said.
“So when the learners get home, they will pay their parents back, and the remaining amount will be theirs. The idea is to truly understand what profit is versus income.”
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