A GROUP of young entrepreneurs, including five girls from the Tavistock area, who created a unique item of clothing are heading to London to compete in the national finals of the Young Enterprise competition.

The group created a 'skat', which combines a scarf and a hat! Team member Jenny Hare, from Heathfield, Tavistock, said the design process had been a 'group effort' with everyone looking at different hats to come up with an original concept.

The designs were translated into reality when the skats were mass-produced and have since proved to be a huge success.

There are 12 members in the group, five of whom live in the Tavistock area, and all are pupils at either Plymouth High School for Girls or Plymstock School. The girls chose the company name Neoquadium.

The Young Enterprise scheme gives students real business experience by helping them set up a company which designs a product or provides a service to the public.

The group took two routes to success, first by competing in a number of trade fairs, and secondly through the Young Enterprise finals themselves.

Jenny admits the team have been surprised with how well they have done: 'At the beginning, we never really thought we would get so far.'

Last year's Tavistock Christmas Bazaar was the group's first taste of a real trade fair, where they were surprised by just how busy their stall was. Jenny said the team had been delighted to sell around £360 worth of their creations at the bazaar.

The group won the Plymouth Trade Fair last Christmas and went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to compete with 60 other companies in the National Trade Fair Final, which they also won.

With all their commercial success behind them, Neoquadium then faced judging of the company as a whole back in Plymouth, where they had to make a business presentation to a panel of judges from Young Enterprise. At a presentation evening at the Plymouth Guildhall for all the companies in the Plymouth area, Neoquadium picked up several awards, including best overall company.

The Neoquadian girls went through to the Devon finals, where they beat three other teams representing North, South and East Devon. Next up was the South West regional final where the company beat representatives from six counties.

The companies were judged on their administration, as well as product, staff and presentation. The group won best administrative company and to the girls' surprise was named best company of the South West region.

They are now competing in the national finals for Young Enterprise in London where they will be up against nine other regions, as well as companies from Scotland, Ireland and Wales.

The team are hoping they will get a chance to look around London while they are in the capital for the finals. Neoquadian are the first company to have ever got this far from Devon.

The finals take place from this Sunday to Wednesday, July 21 to 24, and the winner will compete in the European Young Enterprise Finals in Paris. Although no-one is thinking about that just yet — 'Getting as far as we have, has already been a great achievement for us all,' said Jenny.