THE PUPILS OF 6th class in Clara, Co Offaly, put on their entrepreneurial caps and managed to turn a big profit with their project to sell hair bobbins that fight head lice.

Each pupil from the class at Scoil Bhríde invested €2 each in the Bug Busting Bobbins, which use a “secret ingredient” to keep the head lice away.

The class came up with the idea while participating in the Junior Entrepreneur Programme, and managed to make the project a success.

Rachel Bracken, one of the pupils, explains: “We realised how in teenagers how head lice is increasing at a terrible rate.

We picked the bobbins because head lice is such a terrible thing that’s going on. And with sleepovers and selfies heads are colliding so much, and we just had to prevent that. Plus, it was easy and quick to make.

Bracken explained that making a bobbin was more useful than having to spray your hair, or use a special comb.

She said: “It’s very easy to put the bobbin in your hair rather than remember to put the spray in. It may not have resolved the problem but it may have helped it.”

To make the bobbins work, the students dipped them into a special mixture that keeps the head lice away. This pupil, however, was giving nothing away.

I can’t tell you what the secret ingredient is but it’s really good, and it definitely works.

Every pupil in the class invested just €2 in the project, but each of them got €23 back. Overall they made a profit of €559, which they used for a class trip.

Bracken said she had embraced working in a team for this project and this was something she hadn’t necessarily done before.

“I’ve definitely learned if you have an idea, not everyone is going to like it,” she said.

If you believe in it strongly enough, you just have to go with it and trust your instincts. The customer is always right, and advertising is huge.

This is one success story of the Junior Entrepreneur Programme, where 13,000 children took part and turned a total profit of €230,000 with their classroom businesses this year.

The programme lasts from 12 to 16 weeks, and is offered free of charge to 5th and 6th class pupils in the country. It is supported by established entrepreneurs such as Jerry Kennelly of Tweak.com and Bill Walsh from Aspire Technology.

Applications are currently open for the 2018 edition, and you can find out more about it here.

Read: Savvy Leitrim 13-year-old making waves with portable study aid for children with ADHD

Read: Teenager who founded gender neutral clothing business wins Youth Entrepreneur of the Year

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More