ENTREPRENEURS of the future got a taste of real business as they visited their mentor's workplace.

Students from Durham High School visited the city's B&Q to talk to manager Andy Watson about being a success in business.

The visit was part of the Future Business Magnates competition, devised by the Durham District Partnership, which involves ten schools in the city competing over nine months in all aspects of running a business.

Year eight pupils have been teamed with mentors from the business community to meet a series of monthly challenges.

The students are now more than halfway through the business project, having set up the business, named it, found a location and learned about marketing.

Students from year eight at Durham High talked to Mr Watson about their latest task - advertising their business.

One of the team, Pip Humble, said: "Our business is a Green Pages. We came up with the idea because, although there are a lot of leaflets and information about recycling household waste, there is no one place to look for all recycling information."

Mr Watson said: "My part has been to give advice and real-life examples of good practice for them to look at and use to make their project work."

The final of the Future Business Magnates, which has been backed by The Northern Echo, will be a presentation in front of a panel of judges and an awards ceremony at the Ramside Hall Hotel on June 29.

l For business magnate stories and competition league tables, visit www.businessecho.co.uk