Whanganui High School Market Day

Whanganui High School Market Day raises funds for Heart Foundation

As part of a NCEA level 1 assignment two Whanganui High School Business Studies classes organised a Market Day to sell products, not only to gain five credits, but also to raise funds for charity.

The NCEA assessment was all about ‘determining price.’ First up, they needed ‘seed funds.’ So, in groups they sold food to their fellow students at the school’s Athletic Day. This group of students - Jack Heerdegen, Hayden Stead, Riley Luoni and Nathan Vincent opted for burgers along with ice blocks and fizzy drinks.

The burgers had a good mark-up. The burger price was $5, their costs being $1.70, which covered the bun, the meat, lettuce and tomato sauce. They ‘hired’ the Mitre 10 BBQ for free and did very well.

The profit from the day represented $14.70 for each student which they could use to prepare for the Market Day.

This group, (they were the winning group, but the explanation of how comes later), decided to sell steak sandwiches to their fellow students and teachers. They had a significant advantage, Nathan Vincent’s parents own Vincent Meats, and they supplied the steaks at minimal cost. (They weren’t the only group which relied on the generosity of parents.)

They did have to buy the bread, onions, cheese, tomato sauce, salt and pepper, though, and used bulk suppliers Stevos.

Other groups offered American Hot Dogs, hot chips, lollies, cake slices, pies and burgers. (They were clearly not being judged on the healthiness of the food options.)

The steak sandwiches were sold for $6.50 each and all 50 sandwiches were sold. One of the students admitted to selling the left over bread and cheese to one of their teachers.

Their expenses were only $46.49 and their profit before tax was $232.51 with the combined profit for all the food selling adding up to $2370. But as in the real world, they had to pay tax at a rate of a flat 15%. This added up to $350 and it was to be donated to a charity.

As the steak sellers had the highest sales, they had the right to nominate the charity, and they chose the Heart Foundation.

There was a good reason behind their decision. A good friend, Dylan Solly, was in Wellington Hospital at the time with heart issues. “He is quite close to us, and we thought it was best to choose the Heart Foundation as the recipients.”

Looking back the boys said, “It was a good, productive exercise. We learnt what goes into a business and how to make it go.” They admitted they felt “the risk involved. It was quite stressful.”

The Market Day takings were helped by Annette Main donating the use of an EFTPOS machine to provide the students with plenty of cash to spend. (They paid out $800 on the day).

Claire Libeau, Assistant Head of Social Sciences and Head of Accounting, said, “This was the first time we have had a market day, and it will definitely be repeated next year.”

Principal Martin McAllen, Jack Heerdegen, Hayden Stead, Riley Luoni, Nathan Vincent and Claire Libeau.

21/6/24