Twenty children aged 7 to 12 will run their own stalls at Patch on York Street this weekend, selling products they have designed and made themselves.

The Young Founders Market is the first public outing of Configur Academy's Young Founders House programme, an after-school enterprise club for primary-aged children based in Twickenham taking place on Sunday, 7 June.

The market will run on the first Sunday of every month, with free entry for all.

Stalls will include handmade jewellery, baked goods, original artwork, and a range of products the children have developed since the programme began in April.

Alongside the children's stalls, the market will offer face painting, arts and crafts tables, food and drinks from local vendors, and a Young Founders Pitch Corner, where children practise presenting their business ideas to small panels of family and visitors.

A community element runs through the whole programme. Children contribute 10p of every £1 they earn into a community Give Pot, which they vote together at the end of each term to donate to a local cause.

Orgesa Meli, founder of Configur Academy, said: "Children at this age have far more business sense than adults often credit them with.

"What they need is a real audience, real money, and the experience of selling something they have actually built. That is what the market gives them."

advertisement

Configur Academy runs two programmes at Patch, Young Founders House for entrepreneurship and Rise to Lead for public speaking, with a third launching in September focused on AI literacy for children.

Each programme is built to give children practical experience in a single skill, taught in a small-group setting alongside trained mentors.

The Young Founders Market takes place at Patch, 42 York Street, Twickenham TW1 3LJ, on Sunday, 7 June from 12 to 2pm.

Families with children aged 7 to 12 who would like to apply for a future market stall can visit www.configuracademy.com.

READ MORE: High Tide Festival launches crowdfunding campaign to secure return in 2026.

We want to provide Twickenham with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.