Financial wheeling and dealing is not confined to the floor of the Stock Exchange, as one group of A-level students is proving. Education reporter Lyn Barton talks to the seven-strong team who have set their own company in motion.

AT THE AGE of 16, James Ashwell may seem a little young to be the financial director of a company.

But when you consider his fellow members of the board are all the same age, it seems to slot into place.

The company is called Sprite Designs and it is the brainchild of seven A-level students at Bingley Grammar School who want to make their mark on the world of interior decorating.

"We are going to sell candle-holders made from moulded metal," explained James, whose company has already learned a lesson in the harsh reality of business.

"We were going to make them ourselves, but it took us a whole afternoon to make just one, so we have decided to design them and find a local business to produce them.

"Then we will sell them around the school and a special enterprise fair."

Sprite Designs was set up under a Young Enterprise Initiative run by Bradford Training Enterprise Council.

The company is first sent a start-up pack which enables them to get the ball rolling and make the first crucial steps in the world of business.

Bingley Grammar's careers teacher Dave Mann oversees the Young Enterprise project and says it is a microcosm of the real, business world.

"The students get an awful lot from it," he said.

"Apart from a real sense of achievement, they get used to working as part of a team, making deadlines, problem solving and communications skills.

"Plus they get an understanding of the real world of work."

Shares in the company are sold to finance set-up costs. They cost 25 pence per share and each investor is only allowed to buy four to encourage directors to broaden their scope.

A minimum of £60 must be raised to get the company on its feet and to have it registered at Companies House through the TEC.

But no matter how much of a blossoming Body Shop or ICI is in the works, firms set up under the Young Enterprise scheme are wound up before the end of the school year.

But if shareholders have chosen their company well, they could well see their investment doubled, said Mr Mann.

"Most companies make a small profit, although we have seen some that have made a couple of hundred pounds.

"Some people have seen the value of their maximum stake of £1 double."

The directors must call an AGM before shelving their company and they need the green light from their backers on what to do with their surplus cash.

"Some are able to pay themselves a small wage and some give the profit to charity or pay for something at the school," said Mr Mann.

In the meantime, Sprite Designs are still in the embryonic stage, although James is hoping for big things and plans a career in business after university.

"We are all still selling shares in the company at the moment, so we don't know how much capital we have raised. But all of us are hoping to do quite well."

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