IF the north Hampshire final of this year’s Young Enterprise contest is a benchmark, then the future’s looking bright for the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Teams from seven schools in and around Basingstoke took part in this year’s Young Enterprise challenge, and the judges were impressed with what they saw.

The school companies – which have been making and selling products all year – put up their display stalls for three judges at the AA Building, in Basing View, and gave presentations in front of 150 people to stake their claim for the Company of the Year award for north Hampshire.

Students from Sherfield School, Costello Technol-ogy College, Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College, The Hurst Community College, Brighton Hill Community College, The Clere School and Technology College and Everest Community College took part and judges considered the students’ display stands, their presentations and their report and accounts to reach their decision.

Mike Young, chairman of the north Hampshire board of Young Enterprise, said: “The presentations were of a higher standard than I have seen in recent years.

“When students from The Clere did their presentation, they asked for the lights to be dimmed and walked down holding lighted candles they had made and sold, carrying the school flag and sounding a fanfare on a trumpet, so everyone sat up for their presentation.

“The students were a bit nervous going into the AA Building, and the theatre where they did their presentations is a big place. They really had to project their voices and a lot of them dressed in business attire.”

It was a close call, but in the end, the Testbourne Community School company “Inspired” – which came up with a Credit Munch recipe book featuring recipes from local and national celebrities, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown – took the top prize, while other accolades were awarded to their competitors.

Speaking about “Inspired”, Mr Young said: “I think what distinguished them is they went for the higher value, more expensive products that had a big profit margin – their cookbook was a bigger risk but they researched it well.

“By the end of the year, after tax they will have a profit of about £600, but they are still selling so it will probably be more like £750 – that’s about the second highest I’ve ever seen!”

Most people in the audience were students, advisers, teachers and parents, and while students waited for the verdict they listened to a talk by Basingstoke entrepreneur Alan Montgomery.

And while most of the honours went to younger recipients, there was also an award for long-time Young Enterprise supporter Derek Anthony. He received a trophy in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Young Enterprise.