Talented students demonstrated their business ideas at the seventh inter-schools competition run by GFirstLEP.

The event was sponsored by Cheltenham's GCHQ and over 50 students aged 13 and 14, from seven local schools took part in the Young Entrepreneurs Competition.

They were given the task of creating a product or service to make education or business easier in the future, focusing around communication devices, business technology or cyber security.

With ideas ranging from software to reduce time spent on administration tasks, to a pen that translates as you write, the students came up with the initial concepts, financial plans, advertising and marketing ideas.

The teams of students were supported by a business mentor to help them focus and develop their idea.

The judges were hugely impressed with the variety and creativity of the pitches presented and commended the students on the hard work and research they had put in to the competition.

First prize went to Archway School, Stroud with accounting data analyst - software that will reduce time spent on administration tasks by 40 per cent. Second place went to Westonbirt School with Motoscribe and in third place was Cheltenham College with E-desk.

David Owen, chief executive of GFirst LEP, said: "The entrepreneurial spirit and enthusiasm of the students is fantastic, and we're very grateful to the business mentors for giving up their time to help guide the students with their ideas, and of course to GCHQ for sponsoring the programme.

"Linking education and business is imperative in ensuring that the county has a skilled workforce, and the ideas of young people are incredibly important - I hope to see the accounting data analyst hit the market in a few years' time."

Virginia Martin, careers co-ordinator at Archway School said: "As first year entrants to the Young Entrepreneurs Competition we were thrilled at the levels of creativity this event inspired in all eighty Year 9 students who took part in the first round of the competition. "

The five Archway finalists gave up lunch-breaks and worked in the Easter holidays to perfect their bid.