Children will have the chance to take their entrepreneurial skills from the classroom to the boardroom thanks to a renewed £300,000 in funding for Scotland’s Enterprising Schools, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed.

The money for Scotland’s Enterprising Schools will go towards helping teachers unleash the entrepreneurial and creative skills shown by pupils by setting up a team to work with schools and local authorities to provide resources and lesson plans.

Links will also be made with businesses to support pupils to further enhance promising ideas. More than 80 schools are already benefiting from the initiative which is part of Scotland CAN DO, the framework used by the Scottish Government to move towards becoming a world leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation.

The First Minister made the announcement as she attended the opening of the RBS entrepreneurial hub at the bank’s Gogarburn headquarters. She said:

“Scotland’s young people are this nation’s future, and we must do all we can to give them the chance to thrive and be the best they can be.

“Our schools, colleges and universities are key players in nurturing our young people and making them aware of their possibilities, be that as a mechanic, a scientist, a sports star or successful business men and women.

“This £300,000 will give our children the belief that they CAN DO and that enterprise can be a valid and viable choice for all. The ‘Scotland’s Enterprising Schools’ platform will help them to learn and build on this and open up their entrepreneurial potential.

“2016 is the Year of Design, Architecture and Innovation, and promoting innovation is an incredibly powerful way of creating a sustainably prosperous society and helping Scotland achieve its full economic potential through growth and job creation.”