Midsummer Place starts enterprise partnership with The Walnuts School

Midsummer Place, Milton Keynes’ premium shopping centre, is hosting the Walnuts School Sixth Form programme ‘The Walnuts Enterprise’ on the mall, starting Tuesday 1 November.

Held between Waterstones and Michael Kors at Midsummer Place, The Walnuts Enterprise has launched a stand on the mall selling a range of unique handmade plaques and home decorations, just in time for Christmas.

The students will be offering beautifully handcrafted wooden plaques featuring, motivational, comical and inspirational phrases. They will also be offering personalisation services for the added unique touch. Prices start from £5.

Rebecca Brown, Careers and Transition Lead at The Walnuts School said: “Our young people have the fantastic opportunity to be part of our brand ‘The Walnuts Enterprise’. The students are given the opportunity to enjoy a variety of roles including, planning, designing, production, sales assistant and accounting.

“It is vital that all young people are given a chance for their ability to be nurtured throughout their time in the programme. By nurturing the young people and allowing them to develop their entrepreneurial skills not only do the students develop and grow, but it also gives them vital employability skills for their future ahead.”

The partnership with The Walnuts School came to fruition through the Hatch initiative that invited small businesses to pitch for retail space.

Kirsty McGiff, Marketing Manager at Midsummer Place said: “We are so proud to work alongside The Walnuts School and help them showcase the skills developed in this programme. The products their young people are creating are of such a high standard and we feel they are perfect for our shoppers’ Christmas lists this year!”

The store will be running across various days with the chance to extend into December. The current opening days are: 1st, 2nd, 9th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 19th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 29th and 30th November.

The Walnuts School is a school for children and young people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or a Social Communication difficulty, from the age of 4 to 19. For more information visit the website.