TALENTED entrepreneur Jordan Daykin spoke to pupils at his former school in Trowbridge about his experience on BBC2 programme Dragons’ Den and how academic education is not for everyone.

The 19-year-old, who became the youngest person to win an investment on Dragons’ Den last year when he secured an £80,000 investment from Deborah Meaden, visited John of Gaunt School last Wednesday (July 8).

He spoke to pupils about how he left traditional schooling to move into home education at the age of 13, before inventing Grip It Fixings with his grandfather in Trowbridge after the pair struggled to put up a curtain rail.

Since appearing on Dragons’ Den, Mr Daykin has seen his business grow rapidly at its premises in Hampton Park West in Melksham, securing deals with Screwfix, B&Q, Currys and Argos.

Mr Daykin, who now lives in Westbury, said: “It was exciting to meet Wiltshire’s up and coming entrepreneurs, I look forward to seeing them on the Dragon's Den in years to come.

“I wanted to convey to them that academic education may not be for everyone, and through hard work, tenacity and learning life skills, you can still be a success.”

Grip It Fixings is now exporting to 32 counties, after Mr Daykin secured a deal with RS Components, a trading brand of Electrocomponents, and has a forecasted turnover of £5,000,000.

John of Gaunt teacher Lydia Armes said: “It was fantastic to see our Year 9 and 10 business students so engaged and inspired. They clearly took a lot from the talk and I have no doubt will be more motivated going forward.”

As well as visiting the John of Gaunt School, Mr Daykin also visited Abbeyfield School in Chippenham to talk to pupils about the value of hard work and determination.

James Stewart, careers co-ordinator at Abbeyfield, said: "It was a pleasure to have Jordan talk to Abbeyfield students on his business and Dragons’ Den experience. They learned lots from his top tips, including the importance of working hard.”