The three pupils from Our Lady’s High School impressed the judges with their social enterprise idea, ‘Little Bag of Hope’, which would provide rucksacks to rough sleepers in Glasgow, to help them survive the winter.

Erin O’Brien, Maria Roos and Lucy McNee pitched their initiative in front of a panel of four Dragons before scooping the £500 prize. A team from Coatbridge High School were runners up after developing an app designed to help people deal with mental health issues.

Now in its eighth year, the entrepreneurial event is aimed at S3 pupils in North Lanarkshire and is organised by the local authority and Business Gateway Lanarkshire. This year, 72 pupils entered across 16 local schools.

Scott Webb, regional executive at UKSE was one of five four local businessmen and women who took on the role of a Dragon and was responsible for advising and scoring the budding entrepreneurs throughout the competition.

Scott said: “This is a superb initiative which introduces young people to the world of business and a potential career path when they finish school.

“I have played the role of a Dragon for a number of years and I never fail to be impressed at the ingenuity and effort the young people put into their business plans and their pitch. It’s getting more and more difficult to select a winner, proof that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in North Lanarkshire’s young people.”