YOUNGSTERS at a secondary school have used their business skills to help an African village.

Pupils at Fyndoune Community College in Sacriston, County Durham, working with County Durham Business and Learning Partnership, have gone into business selling bottled water, the proceeds from which will go to provide a well in Ghana.

When the year nine students heard that in some villages in Ghana people were faced with a two-hour walk to the nearest water supply, they decided to help.

With advice from the school's enterprise advisor, Steve Donkin, they came up with a scheme to raise the £3,000 needed for a well in Ghana and, at the same time, provide healthier lifestyles for pupils at Fyndoune.

Under the leadership of geography teacher Lynda Dixon, the pupils have set up a business buying bottled water from Abbey Well, which they sell in the school, with profits going to their Ghanaian well fund.

Ms Dixon said: "We encourage the children to drink water, which is good for them and keeps them alert in lessons.

"We bought 2,000 bottles from Abbey Well, have about 1,000 left now and about £150 in profit.

"When the weather gets warmer, we expect to be doing even better."

Mr Donkin was one of eight enterprise advisors recruited last year to work with 80 North-East secondary schools as part of a national scheme announced by Chancellor Gordon Brown.

The college plans to extend the scheme by having the empty bottles disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way.

Foreman Recycling, of Spennymoor, has volunteered to collect the empty bottles and recycle them if Fyndoune can interest other schools in taking up the scheme.