A GROUP of young entrepreneurs from Tavistock College are taking a national enterprise competition by storm.

Launched by star of Dragons’ Den Peter Jones, ‘Tycoon in Schools’ challenges youngsters to set up their own businesses and raise as much profit as possible during a seven-week trading period.

Tyre Fires of Tavistock – the team of Ellesse Blackmore, Phoebe Sanders, Sophie Horn, Lauren Abel, Lauren Crick, Alice Kodritsch and Patrick Ahern (all aged 16) – have been selling stylish fire pits made from recycled wheel rims and are currently second on the competition leader board.

Team member Phoebe Sanders, said: ‘We source the steel rims locally from a well-trusted scrap yard, where we are able to negotiate a reduced cost for raw materials.

‘To create our product we quality check all rims to ensure they are to our high standards and wash off any dirt to allow for a smooth paint later on in production. Using a welder, we then weld the two rims together and cut a hole out for the door with an angle grinder using a pre-made template.

‘Quality checks are then completed and any rough edges are filed down to ensure customer safety. If requested, our handcrafted doors are carefully crafted and hinged onto the fire pit at an additional cost.’

The pupils came up with the idea during a ‘blue-sky’ thinking session, before creating a logo, deciding on job roles and preparing a detailed business plan.

As well as marketing the business using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, they have sold their products at various local events, including the Tavistock College Christmas Fair and 2015’s Tavistock Dickensian Evening.

With one week of trading to go, the savvy entrepreneurs have made in excess of £1,000 profit.

Phoebe continued: ‘We have been encouraged by the positive feedback and enthusiasm of the local community and customers. This has been a great incentive to continue our hard work and set even higher sales targets to achieve as much as possible.’

Run by the Peter Jones Foundation, Tycoon in Schools is a nationwide competition that promotes enterprise and entrepreneurship in schools. Teams submit business plans and are then awarded a loan of up to £1,000 to help get their ventures going.

Once the trading phase is over, Mr Jones picks the most impressive teams to attend a final ceremony, which has been held at Buckingham Palace each year since the competition began in 2012.

Peter Jones Foundation head of education Helen Beardmore told the Times: ‘They’ve been so impressive throughout the competition. Their fire pits clearly take a lot of work and it’s testament to their ambition and dedication that they’ve managed to make so much profit.

‘We’ve enjoyed following their progress and we really hope they continue with the business beyond the close of the competition.’

While the leaderboard standings don’t necessarily indicate who will progress to the last round, Tyre Fires of Tavistock’s strong performance has certainly put them in with a shot.

Finalists will be announced early in the New Year.

Sarah Holt, a teacher at Tavistock College, said: ‘The time and effort they have given to producing the tyre fires shows their determination. This is not an easy task and has involved them rummaging in skips for the materials, spending hours cleaning the materials before they begin the production process.

‘The competition has made them aware of the importance of recognising and appreciating each other’s strengths and weaknesses. They’ve also come to appreciate the support others can provide and how a polite, professional approach can encourage this support.’

Tavistock College is located on Crowndale Road and is part of the Tavistock Co-operative Learning Trust.

As well as Tycoon in Schools, the Peter Jones Foundation runs the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy, which delivers specialist courses in enterprise and entrepreneurship at colleges across the country.