Pupils from Manchester Academy have spent an afternoon experiencing life as high-flying business entrepreneurs after coming first in the 2010 Apax – Mosaic Enterprise Challenge.

The Apax - Mosaic Enterprise Challenge gives young people the chance to access mentoring from successful business men and women and develop their entrepreneurial skills by setting up a 'virtual business' online.

Using enterprise software the game puts students into realistic business scenarios where they develop valuable skills such as how to market new products or identify business competitors through set challenges.

The victorious team were awarded their trophy and a cheque for £3,000 by Evan Davis, presenter of Dragon's Den, and Khawar Mann of Apax Partners.

First stop for the afternoon was a guided tour of BBC Television Centre with BBC World presenter Mishal Hussain, followed by a private meeting with Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling.

The day ended with a mentoring session with Dragon's Den's James Caan, who imparted his business wisdom to the team.

He commented: "I am extremely impressed by Mosaic and highly motivated by the work that they do. It's been a great experience to be a part of the Enterprise Challenge and it was a privilege to meet the winners from Manchester Academy, who are no doubt the entrepreneurs of the future!"

The Challenge was organised by Mosaic, a community initiative that aims to empower and raise the aspirations of young British Muslims and their peers living in socially deprived areas of the UK through access to successful role models and learning opportunities, and sponsored by the Apax Foundation, the charity of global private equity firm, Apax Partners.

Manchester Academy managed to make a net profit of £6.3 million, and were coached to victory by successful serial entrepreneur Rochdale's Atifa Shah. Atifah acted as a mentor for the Manchester Academy team, sharing with the students her own experiences, giving insights into the principals of business and nurturing them throughout the competition.

She said: "I'm delighted the team from Manchester Academy has won the Enterprise Challenge and I'm so proud of their achievement.

"It's been an inspiration to help them through the competition and it's really given them more confidence in their abilities, along with the opportunity to think about entrepreneurial career paths beyond secondary school.

"I was amazed at their determination and how they integrated my advice into their winning strategy. The award is most certainly well deserved, they seem to have taken it all into their stride, whilst I'm bubbling with excitement and not being able to congratulate them enough!"

Small Heath School from Birmingham came second with a £5.9 million net profit and Handsworth Girls College came third with a net profit of £5.8 million.

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