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Pioneers · Ages 9-11 · KS2

Turn a wild idea into something real.

An online business course for ages 9-11. Ten story-led missions: spot a problem, find an idea, work out who it's for, make it, build a brand, do the money, tell people, then plan it and pitch it. They finish with their own idea, a price that makes sense and a 60-second pitch they've said out loud.

No card to start · Works solo or together · £29 one-off access

  • 10Missions, idea to pitch
  • 22Tools for 9-11
  • 251+UK founder role models
  • £29One-off, no subscription

Start here

The course: ten missions, idea to pitch

Spark the Fox walks them from spotting a problem to making the pitch, one mission at a time. Mission 1 is free; £29 once unlocks the rest for the household, forever.

Pioneers Academy

Turn a wild idea into a real business: spot problems worth solving, design a product, run a cookie-business simulator, build a brand, set prices that make a profit and pitch it.

10 modules~5 hoursJunior Founder completion certificateWritten for ages 9-11

The journey

  1. 1Spot a problem
  2. 2Find an idea
  3. 3Know your customer
  4. 4Create your product
  5. 5Build your brand
  6. 6Work out your costs
  7. 7Set your price
  8. 8Tell people about it
  9. 9Build your plan
  10. 10Make your pitch

What they work through

1Welcome to the Spark Squad25 min · 4 activities
2Think Like an Entrepreneur25 min · 4 activities
3Idea Treasure Hunt30 min · 4 activities
4Make It Real30 min · 4 activities
5Money Maths Magic30 min · 4 activities
6Brand Me Brilliant30 min · 4 activities

+ 4 more modules

Do the work

Every tool for 9-11, in one place

Tools built for this age group, colour-coded by skill. Filter by what they need - sample tools are free, plus 3 AI uses a day.

All 22 tools for ages 9-11 - filter by skill

  • Mindset & Growth

    FOUNDER FLASHCARDS

    Flip, learn, repeat! Master business words with fun interactive cards

    10 minStart now
  • Mindset & Growth

    WHAT KIND OF FOUNDER ARE YOU?

    Discover your superpower! Find out what makes you a unique entrepreneur

  • Ideas & Creativity

    AI IDEA MACHINE

    Can't think of a business idea? Let AI spark your imagination based on what you love!

    10 minStart now
  • Ideas & Creativity

    SPARK MAP BUILDER

    Connect the dots! Map your passions and skills to find your perfect business idea

    15 minStart now
  • Ideas & Creativity

    WHAT IF? WHEEL

    Spin to win! Get wild prompts that spark creative business ideas

    10 minStart now
  • Research & Validation

    WHO WANTS THIS?

    Play detective! Match products to customers and spot what people really need

    12 minStart now
  • Research & Validation

    SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

    What makes YOU special? Find your unique edge over the competition

    12 minStart now
  • Branding & Identity

    BUSINESS NAME GENERATOR

    Find the perfect name! Brainstorm catchy names that stick

    10 minStart now
  • Branding & Identity

    PROTOTYPE STUDIO

    See your ideas come alive! Create stunning product mockups with AI magic

    15 minStart now
  • Branding & Identity

    BRAND KIT CREATOR

    Make it pop! Design your colours, logo ideas, and brand vibe

    20 minStart now
  • Strategy & Planning

    BUILD YOUR EMPIRE GAME

    Play the growth game! Make decisions and watch your virtual business grow

    15 minStart now
  • Money & Finance

    COOKIE CREW SIMULATOR

    Run your own cookie empire! Make decisions, set prices, and watch profits grow

    20 minStart now
  • Money & Finance

    PROFIT CALCULATOR

    Ka-ching! See exactly how much money you can make with visual maths

    12 minStart now
  • Money & Finance

    MONEY JARS GAME

    Spend, save, or invest? Make smart money decisions with colourful jars

    15 minStart now
  • Money & Finance

    BUDGET BOSS

    Take charge of your cash! Track money in and out like a total boss

    18 minStart now
  • Money & Finance

    BUDGET TEMPLATE

    Grab your free spreadsheet! Download a ready-made money tracker

    10 minStart now
  • Marketing & Sales

    POSTER MAKER

    Design like a pro! Create eye-catching posters that get attention

    15 minStart now
  • Marketing & Sales

    CUSTOMER SCENARIOS

    Can you handle it? Practice tricky customer situations through role-play

    15 minStart now
  • Pitching & Presenting

    PITCH BUILDER

    Wow the crowd! Create a simple pitch that makes people want to buy

    20 minStart now
  • Team & Leadership

    TEAM ROLE QUIZ

    Are you the leader, the creative, or the organiser? Find your team superpower!

  • Team & Leadership

    CHOOSE YOUR PATH

    Your story, your choices! Navigate business adventures where decisions matter

    15 minStart now
  • Final Project

    MY FIRST BUSINESS PLAN

    You did it! Put it all together and create YOUR very own business plan

    20 minStart now

Swipe for more →

Open the full tools hub

AI coach

Stuck? Ask Blaze.

Blaze is their age-aware business sidekick. It helps develop an idea, think of a name or improve a pitch - asking questions instead of taking over the thinking.

Meet Blaze

Age-aware

Talks to your age group

Private

Chats aren't saved

Coaching

Questions, not answers

Blaze 🔥

AI Business Coach

Ask me anything about your idea - here's what people your age usually ask:

Is 50p enough for one of my cookies?

My business name is boring - give me better ones

Ask me questions so I can practise my pitch

Ask Blaze anything...
Real people, real routes

251+ UK founders who started with an idea

Searchable by sector, with how each one actually began - most without money, contacts or a plan. Let them filter to the industries a 10 year old cares about: sweets, games, sport, animals, fashion.

251+ UK founders11 SectorsFree No sign-up
  • Find a founder in a sector they love and read how she started
  • Real UK examples for school projects instead of textbook case studies

Off screen

More building. Less scrolling.

Take the idea away from the screen with drawing challenges, brand activities and money puzzles. Maya's Big Business Adventure suits ages 6-9 and is more story-led; Dream It. Be It. Biz-it! suits ages 10-14 and is more independent and project-based. Printed books are bought separately from the shop and are not part of the £29 digital access.

See every book and workbook in the shop

What changes for them

What they'll have to show

Real things they will finish with - the reason this sticks when a worksheet does not.

  • An idea of their own, with a reason it matters
  • A brand kit - name, colours and a logo idea
  • Costs, price and profit in their own words
  • A one-page plan and a 60-second pitch they've delivered

Along the way

  • Spot a problem worth solving instead of guessing at ideas
  • Ask a real person what they'd pay, then set a price that works
  • Understand costs and profit through a cookie business they actually run
  • Say their idea out loud in 60 seconds without freezing

Useful for

KS2 maths, PSHE and design & technologySchool enterprise days and young enterprise clubsBake sales, crafts and first small money projectsSpeaking up in front of a classConfidence that ideas are worth having

For the grown-up

What parents ask before their child starts

Can they do it alone?

Most 9-11 year olds work through the missions independently - plain language, 20-30 minutes each. Be nearby for AI features and anything real-world.

Account and data

Mission 1 and sample tools need no account. A free account saves work and gives 3 AI uses a day. We never ask a child for a phone number, school or address.

How Blaze works

An age-aware AI coach with guardrails for 9-11: it asks questions rather than doing the thinking, and gives no social media, money-transfer or contact-sharing advice.

No ads, no subscription

No third-party ads or ad targeting anywhere, and nothing to cancel - access is a one-off £29.

It supports skills used across KS2 maths, PSHE and design and technology - pricing and profit, resilience and teamwork, designing and prototyping a product. It is not a replacement for school work.

Read the privacy policy

Straight answers

What parents of 9-11 year olds ask

Six business ideas that work for 9-11 year olds

Low cost, quick to deliver, and each one teaches a different bit of money. Costs and prices in pounds so the maths is real.

  1. 1. Traybake ordersCost a batch of 12 brownies, price them per slice, take orders from family and neighbours.
  2. 2. Dog walking with an adultSet a per-walk price, keep a simple diary, learn repeat customers beat one-off sales.
  3. 3. Handmade jewellery or keyringsBuy beads in bulk, work out the cost per piece, sell at a school or village fair.
  4. 4. Car washing roundFixed price per car, three cars an hour. The clearest lesson in time versus money.
  5. 5. Party bag serviceAssemble bags to order for birthdays. Teaches quoting, deadlines and buying in bulk.
  6. 6. Garden tidyingLeaf clearing or watering while neighbours are away. Zero start-up cost, pure profit.
See 101 business ideas for kids

Straight answers about ages 9-11

What business can a 9, 10 or 11 year old start in the UK?

Anything with low costs, short delivery and a grown-up handling the money side: cake and traybake orders, dog walking with an adult, car washing, handmade slime or jewellery, a school-fair stall, birthday-party bag assembly, garden tidying. A child can earn and keep money, but a parent holds the bank account and signs anything contractual.

Browse business ideas for kids

How do I teach a 9-11 year old about profit and pricing?

Give them a real batch to cost out. Work out what one unit costs to make, decide a price, then multiply. Our cookie-business simulator does exactly this on screen so they can raise the price, watch sales fall and find the middle - the moment pricing stops being abstract.

Try the profit calculator

Can a 9-11 year old work through this on their own?

Mostly yes. The missions are written at KS2 reading level and everything saves as they go. Stay nearby for the AI features and for anything involving contacting real customers or handling money.

What does a first business plan look like at this age?

One page: what the idea is, who it is for, what it costs to make, what you will charge and what you would do with the profit. They finish the track with exactly that, plus a 60-second pitch they have practised out loud.

Free business plan template

How does this link to KS2 school work?

It uses skills from KS2 maths (money, percentages, multiplication), PSHE (resilience, teamwork, aspiration) and design and technology (designing, making and evaluating a product for a real user).

How to spot a problem worth solving, shape an idea, work out who the customer is, build a brand, understand costs and profit, set a price, write a one-page plan and deliver a 60-second pitch. They finish with an idea of their own and the confidence to explain it.

Start free. Keep building for £29.

Mission 1 is free and takes about 25 minutes. £29 one-off unlocks the relevant digital courses, all interactive tools, unlimited Blaze coaching and every downloadable workbook and activity - for everyone in your household, forever. Printed books are sold separately.

£29 one-off unlocks the relevant digital courses, all interactive tools, unlimited Blaze coaching and every downloadable workbook and activity - for everyone in your household, forever. Printed books are sold separately.