On Friday, the 4th of July, Manchester Academy welcomed the renowned entrepreneur Peter Jones alongside cameras from the BBC during SHINE Week.

• SHINE is the first national schools festival that celebrates young people's talents across the country, this year taking place between June 30 - July 4.
  
  Peter Jones commented, "During SHINE week, I'll be testing talent at the Manchester Academy, when students will be presenting their business ideas and showcasing enterprise initiatives that could make them the commercial talent of tomorrow."
  
  The academy students took part in a number of enterprising ventures which received very positive feedback from him. Below is an article about the day courtesy of Manchester Evening News.

Dragon's Den star Peter Jones is used to shooting down business plans with a withering comment. But he was stuck for words after hearing from Manchester students.

• The no nonsense millionaire had only praise for Manchester Academy pupils who delivered a string of seamless presentations. Mr. Jones, who made his first millions after opening a tennis school and now heads a £200m business portfolio, heard a pitch from three Year 11 students hoping to launch a glossy magazine aimed at teenagers.

• Students from the Moss Side School, mainly hailing from different parts of the world also took part in role-playing where they spoke on behalf of different states and described their selling points. Mr Jones who looked at student's work and gave them valuable feedback, said: "I really enjoyed hearing pitches from the kids. They had some good ideas and were very confident in presenting them.
  
  The children come from many backgrounds and speak many different languages and the school seems more vibrant for it. The students I heard were really entrepreneurial and could teach some of the older people who make the pitches on Dragon's Den a thing or two."

• Head Teacher, Kathy August said: "Peter had heard about the good work our students were doing and we were extremely happy he could come here." Mr Jones is funding an £8m National Enterprise Academy for teenagers, which will be based at Manchester Business School.