ENTERPRISING students have raised more than £1,000 for charity after getting a taste for big business.

More than 260 students at Northallerton College showed their entrepreneurial skills in a school business event designed to raise funds for local and national charities.

Twenty teams of year ten students were given budgets of between £20 and £40 to form a company and come up with a money-making idea.

After four weeks of planning and preparation, they were asked to sell their wares at the college fete before paying back their loans. Teacher Anna Harvey said: "We hold an enterprise event every year for the students. It's a lot of hard work, but this year has been the best ever and to raise so much for charity is amazing. All the students were really enthusiastic - baking cakes, washing cars, running tombolas and selling things they had made. We even had help from The Dales School, whose pupils come and work with us in the college four days a week.

"We actually raised £850, with £500 designated to Breast Cancer Care, but one of our students Lauren Collinson mentioned it to her mother, who works at Lloyds TSB and the bank very kindly offered to double the amount which was fantastic."

Sara-Jane Craddock, 16, of Brompton, a member of Northallerton College's charity committee, said: "We look at a number of ways of raising money for charity throughout the year and make sure it is evenly distributed between local, national and international charities. We were really pleased to be able to give £350 to local charities and overwhelmed that we could hand over £1,000 to Breast Cancer Care thanks to the students and Lloyds TSB.