Young entrepreneurs from Buttershaw are spending the first days of their summer holidays at London's Savoy Hotel.

Wheeling and dealing pupils from Buttershaw High School have reached the finals of the Young Enterprise contest.

Today and tomorrow they go head-to-head with youngsters from some of the top schools in the country.

Their firm, Henpecked, which makes toy wooden ducks, has been a runaway success.

They triumphed at the Bradford, West Yorkshire and Yorkshire/Humber regional rounds and are now tilting at the national crown.

The teenagers developed, market-tested and manufactured wooden duck toys, which net them £3.95 in profit for each one sold at £5.

And they even pulled off an export deal - persuading pupils at their 'sister school' in South Salem, USA, to buy the toys. Products are advertised on the company website.

This summer they will pay out a £468 dividend bonanza to their 'shareholders' - pupils and parents. They have also successfully negotiated £600 in sponsorship from the Yorkshire Building Society, to help offset the costs of their stay in London.

But it has not all been plain sailing. Board members had to fire a director who was not pulling his weight and early production glitches left customers facing delays in receiving their ducks. It all helped the young people learn good business practice.

"Rather than lower standards, we dealt with the delay to customers by apology and explanation - the personal touch," explains a report by the group.

Ann Kilmartin, the teacher who supervised the Henpecked group, said she was proud of what they've achieved: "The group is half Asian and half white and it's lovely to see how well they get on and work as a team."

Minal Dahyabhai, 16, said: "It's been really good - as long as you are willing to put in the hard work."

Friend Sarah Taylor, 16, added: "When I first had to ring up firms and ask for sponsorship I was so nervous. But I found I've got skills I didn't know I had."

Youngsters will have to make a presentation to judges, set up their market stall and demonstrate sales techniques during their two days of tests.