WHAT A NIGHT!
On Tuesday evening, the 2025 START Pitch Final took place at Glasgow Science Centre, with eight incredible teams from four schools – John Paul Academy, Knightswood Secondary School, St Thomas Aquinas Secondary School and The High School of Glasgow – pitching their innovative business ideas!
Our judging panel made up of Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE; Jillian MacBryde, Associate Principal, Entrepreneurship & Enterprise, University of Strathclyde; and Jessica Geddes-Scott, Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, had the difficult task of choosing one winning pitch.
The incredible Independants from St Thomas Aquinas came out top this year with their solution which pairs tracking technology with jewellery to create a fashionable and discreet safety feature for women.
There are so many people to thank for the success of Tuesday’s Pitch Final, and across the entire START programme this academic year. It really wouldn’t have been possible without the support and enthusiasm of the following people and businesses:
Danny Campbell, Ryan Carenduff, Alicja Dzieciol, Rich Wilson, CienDos, HOKO, Business Education Department at John Paul Academy, The High School of Glasgow, Julia (Jules) Salmond, Fiona Ireland, Thomas Devaney, Lucrezia Casulli, Mohammed Khalid Rafiq, Fiona Stewart, Callum Fay, Adetoro Fajonyomi FCCA , Fiona Fairbairn, Tom Inns, fergus inns, Ross Gray, Sandy Kennedy, DLitt, Dr Andrew MacLaren, Colette Beagan, Emma Greer
Read more about our winners in The Herald and The Glasgow Times.
We are so excited about the future of START and our mission to connect schools to startups. Please get in touch via info@STARTforschools.com if you’d like to discuss becoming involved as a partner school or mentor.