COWLEY’S Templars Square shopping centre will be taken over by almost 300 teenage traders on Saturday.

Students from 16 schools will entice Saturday shoppers to buy from them, as part of this year’s Young Enterprise Trade Fair.

Between 9am to 4pm, 24 rival teams will offer hologram generators, lighting, signs, keyrings, vinyl clocks, cookbooks, t-shirts, hoodies, dream catchers, coasters and bags.

The Young Enterprise programme, which ties in with the education curriculum, sees 14-19 year olds from across Oxfordshire set up and run a proper company for a year.

Each team elect a board of directors, raise funds by selling shares in the company and create a product or service to sell.

Helped by local business mentors, they learn about shareholders, profit and loss and marketing.

At the end of the year, they liquidate their company and present an annual report and accounts.

Among those taking part is The Oxford Academy with team Oblique.

Harry Clent, 17, said: “We have become closer as individuals and it’s helped us identify each other’s strengths, which we used to allocate our roles.”

Team mate Olivia Rigo, 18, added: “Becoming part of the scheme has given me an insight on how to start and run my own business and has brought out skills in myself that I never knew I had."

And Chloe Cooke, 17, said: "I feel that taking part has helped me identify my strengths, which I can take with me after this project into the real world of business.”

Wheatley Park School has two teams entered, including Revamp, set up by Year 10’s, to sell cotton tote bags and greetings cards.

Revamp managing director Lucy Ashley, 14, said: “Our marketing director, who is very arty, came up with a few designs and taught us how to do them.

“We made stencils and hand-printed our designs onto fabric bags.”

Revamp deputy managing director Ross Thompson, 15, said “We hope to stand out from others.

“I am very excited, because it’s a good opportunity.”

Eddie Hart, 16, and Sam Walton, 17 are both Year 12’s and run Woodworks, selling wooden bird-box kits.

The wood is recycled from old school doors and the packaging is environmentally friendly.

Managing director Eddie Hart said: “Our generation spend a lot of time on electronics and not always much with their family, so we came up with the idea of wooden sets that can be made into bird boxes.

“Families can bond over it because it’s a good opportunity to do a fun activity together.”

Alison Pexton, Young Enterprise manager for Oxfordshire, said: “Two winners from each area go through to a regional final and there are also UK and European finals.

“But the key is this experience helps students when they come to write their personal statement to apply to university or a job.

“It looks good on their CV to be able to say ‘I set up and ran a business from scratch’.”

Owen Acland, Templars Square centre manager, said: ‘Templars Square are delighted to once again support the Young Enterprise Trade Fair in Cowley.”

Other schools taking part include King Alfred’s Academy, Abingdon, Burford, Cherwell, D’Overbrooks, Our Lady’s Abingdon, St Clare’s, Oxford Academy, St Helen and St Katherine, Gosford Hill, Wallingford, Sibford, Larkmead and Warriner.

Saturday’s event at Cowley is the first of four Young Enterprise Trade Fairs around the county.

The next three are at Banbury on March 4, Abingdon on March 11 and Witney on March 25.

For more information, see young-enterprise.org.uk