A group of Ilkley Grammar School pupils has won a competition run by the Institute of Directors.

The schoolchildren won a trip to London in the IoD Export Award Scheme, an initiative to forge links between education and industry.

The Ilkley team is the only group in the ten-year history of the competition to have organised their own entrance without the aid of a teacher.

Teams put in a report which had to look at export strategies for a business and recommend ways of improving it.

Each team had to show knowledge of the company's products and services, its foreign markets and export marketing sales and strategy.

The winning Ilkley team includes John and Katie Dale; Louise Maybury and Harry Fisk. The team based its report on Dewsbury firm Dixon Chew, which makes and supplies dyes and chemicals.

Professor Andrew Lock, chairman of the judging panel, said: "It was a real pleasure to see how much the students learned from visiting the company.

"They submitted a report which was especially interesting and contained recommendations potentially of real value to managers at Dixon Chew."