YOUNG entrepreneurs at Appleford School got the chance to showcase their skills in a Dragons’ Den style competition.

David King, Headteacher at the Shrewton school for pupils with dyslexia, invited youngsters to pitch their ideas to four successful businessmen and women on Friday.

The competition was based on the BBC show in which entrepreneurs are given three minutes to pitch their business idea to five multimillionaires willing to invest their own money. The students had the possibility to win real investment from the panel of “dragons”.

The panel was Brett Whitfield, John Martin, Susan Treasure and Carol Smith, who chose six pupils to receive cash investments to develop and market their products.

These ranged from an innovative iPad stand to a way to ‘upcycle’ unwanted items. A product design specialist will now visit the school to help the pupils turn their ideas into a reality.

Carolyn Shipstone from the school said: “The Dragons were clearly very impressed with not only the products, but also the confident and articulate way in which the pupils presented their ideas.”