A CAFE in chrome and blue glass has captivated judges in a competition designed to attract young blood to the construction industry.

Teenagers from three schools took part in the pilot initiative run by construction industry training body CITB-ConstructionSkills and Darlington College of Technology.

Judges chose the winning entry from one of two submitted by Carmel RC Technology College. Other schemes were submitted by Hummersknott School and Language College and Branksome School.

Pupils aged 14 and 15 had five months to form a company, come up with a project and present their final design to a panel of judges.

Students from Carmel formed a company called Brix and developed plans for a futuristic cafe in chrome and blue glass surrounded by beautiful parkland for land at West Park, Darlington.

CITB-ConstructionSkills career co-ordinator Kate Eldon said: "They were all amazing, but Brix were particularly organised, produced a fantastic model and gave an excellent PowerPoint presentation."

The Enterprise in Construction Challenge is organised for GCSE graphics students by CITB-ConstructionSkills and the Darlington Curriculum Centre at Darlington College of Technology.

The chairman of the Darlington Curriculum Centre, local builder Bob Carnell, said: "Children decide what they want to be at a very young age, so we have started using construction in the context of learning.

"We don't just want people to lay bricks and saw wood, we also need people to be involved in the engineering side of the industry. This scheme is to encourage the high-fliers."

The winners were presented with £500 and a trophy for their school.