Last year’s winners, Slough and Eton School, with Danny Alexander

The Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge is hotting up, with five teams now selected from each of the participating regions to take part in regional final events in March.

Enterprise Challenge is a national competition which involves secondary students working with mentors in a business simulation game – where they learn to establish and run their own business. The teams with the best results will now go through to regional heats for a coveted place at the national final.

The regional finalists are:

London: Brondesbury College, King Soloman High School, Oaklands School, Crest Boys Academy, Heston Community School.

North West: Ladybridge High School, Manchester Communication Academy, Salford City Academy, Oasis Academy Media City UK, Manchester Academy.

South East: Slough & Eton College, Beechwood School, Oxford Spires Academy, Gordons School, Langley Academy.

West Midlands: Kings Heath Boys School, Kingsbury School & Sports College, Harborne Academy, Saltley School, Hodge Hill College.

Yorkshire: Allerton High School, South Leeds Academy, St Bede’s Catholic Grammar School, E-ACT Leeds East Academy, Lawnswood School, the Freeston Academy.

The Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge gives students the opportunity to be mentored by experienced business professionals who share their diverse business knowledge and skills. It helps to support schools’ curriculum objectives and develop students’ confidence, employability and self-belief.

Hundreds of team from up and down the country have been competing in this year’s challenge since January. The regional finalists will now be put to the test by a panel judges (made up of entrepreneurs and business people) at events across England next month, to compete for space in the grand finals, taking place in May.

This year, students are competing for £2,500 prize money for their school, £500 seed money to invest in a social enterprise benefiting the school, specialised mentoring from a private equity firm to help establish their business idea, and a once in a lifetime fun day out in London.

Find out more about the Apax-Mosaic Enterprise Challenge and how you can get involved in mentoring young people.