A SCHOOLGIRL entrepreneur is looking for ways to market her eco-friendly idea to get youngsters to grow their own veg.

Jessica Galsworthy, 18, won a design competition at Anglia Ruskin University with her “Grow Your Own Dinner” vegetable box.

The shoebox-sized scheme allows youngsters to plant and tend a tiny garden in their own home.

Jessica, a student at Westcliff High School for Girls, is now looking to market this product, but it has not been easy as she suffers from ME and as a result misses out on some school time.

Determined Jessica, of Lower Road, Hockley, has not let this hold her back however and fought hard to gain good results in her AS levels and is now looking to study business and maths at university.

She said: “We had to design a product for A level graphics and I thought if I could find something there was an actual need for it would be better. We have a nursery so I just went from there.

“Graphics has always been something I have loved and I want to do a maths, business and statistics degree at the London School of Economics.

“I want more than just to design things, I want to manage a business.”

She said: “I designed another project before this one and not having a teacher all the time was hard. Some weeks I had a couple of days off school and I was so behind which made it harder – but I love doing it so much.”

Any businesses that may be able to offer Jessica support or ideas of how to put her invention into production can contact the youngster on jessicag@whsg.info