A team of pupils at a Bradford school have won a national competition thanks to a scheme to turn trash into cash.

Already champions of Yorkshire, the five-strong team at St Bede’s Catholic Grammar School scooped the Apex Mosaic Enterprise Challenge’s grand final in London.

It means the team’s business plan, which sees it ask the community for their recyclable waste that is then sold on to local businesses, will get a vital cash boost.

About 500 schools took part in the competition and those that got through to the finals faced the daunting task of running their idea past a judging panel comprising Margaret Mountford, of TV’s The Apprentice, and other enterprise celebrities.

The team, made up of Year 8 pupils, won £2,500 for the school and £500 “seed” money to help their business idea – called Cash4Trash – grow.

Making the win even more impressive was the age of the St Bede’s team – many of those they were competing against were several years older.

Later this month, the team will watch the filming of Dragons’ Den and run their idea past the stars of the show.