Students from the City of Bath College are learning life and work skills in a mentoring programme with the University of Bath.
The 15 to 19-year-olds taking the Step-Up Progression Diploma are visited twice a week by university students who help to share their business tips.
The young people had been taught the importance of budgeting, marketing and advertising before putting into practice what they had learned.
They baked hundreds of gingerbread and shortbread biscuits, bagged up sweets and designed their own Christmas cards then sold the goods on a stall at the university’s Students’ Union. All profits raised went to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The Bright Ways Enterprise Project aims to give students a head-start by teaching them the practical skills needed in later life.
Student Kayley-Anne Russell, 16, said: “We did all the baking over a couple of days; that was quite tiring!
“We’ve learned about selling and advertising and my communication and confidence have improved. When I grow older, I hope I can continue to use these business skills.”
The students attracted a steady stream of people to their stall, who not only wanted to buy sweet treats but also find out more about a student’s unusual invention.
17-year-old student Harry Tugwell designed and made a remote-control Christmas gift which he used to tempt people to the cake stall.
Theo Way, 20, a Politics with Economics student at the University of Bath, has been working with the group since the beginning of November.
He said: “We built up to making and selling cakes by learning about what businesses are and what it would be like to set up your own business.
“It’ll be a great experience for them to have on their CVs and it will help when they think about getting a job.”