LONGRIDGE Towers pupil, Marcus Weeks, has been acknowledged as one of the best young leaders in north east England.
At a glittering ceremony in Newcastle this week, the 18-year-old, whose parents run the Duns based Wicken Fen food company, won a 'Leadership Award' from Young Enterprise North East for his work as managing director of 'suburban outfitter' TQ Clothin
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And TQ is only one of a growing number of business enterprises managed by Marcus – only his age barred him from a recent appearance on Dragon's Den.
The Young Enterprise Scheme is designed to give secondary school pupils a real taste of working in business with an emphasis on learning by doing.
The sixth form team at Longridge, led by Marcus, decided on a contemporary clothing range, TQ clothing, as their business project. Over the last year, they have worked together to develop the range working on sales, branding, promotion and the development of a website.
Head of Sixth Form, Helen Nottman, was so impressed by the leadership skills exhibited by Marcus that she decided to enter him for the Leadership Award.
She said: "Marcus has undoubtedly been the main influence behind the success of the company Team TQ. I decided to enter him for the award as he more than met the criteria set by Young Enterprise North East showing outstanding leadership, motivating the team and encouraging them to work together to meet commercial targets and project deadlines."
The impressive combination of skills that led to his win will no doubt help Marcus to fast track his business career. Steering Team TQ has taught him the importance of setting clear objectives, sticking to deadlines and developing relationships with suppliers. He also took on board practical lessons such as managing cash flow and representing TQ at trade exhibitions.
At 18 Marcus is already showing the skills of a born entrepreneur. As well as running TQ Clothing, he also runs an electronic cigarette substitute company CigStar with his father while studying for his A-Levels.
Marcus said: "I was hoping to present CigStar on Dragon's Den but unfortunately I was a few months too young to qualify for the next series. However it will definitely be something to aim for in the future."
