PRIMARY school entrepreneurs, backed by Sir Richard Branson’s bank, sold hundreds of pounds worth of their own hand-made products in a project aimed at boosting their business skills.

The 48 pupils at Firthmoor Primary School in Darlington travelled to the Newcastle based bank’s headquarters to sell products they had designed and produced themselves.

The pupils, who had produced necklaces, bracelets, Easter cards and peppermint creams, sold £262 worth of goods in just two hours. Firthmoor were one of four schools in Darlington chosen to take part in Virgin Money’s Make £5 Grow project.

Under the project, delivered by the Newcastle Education Business Partnership (EBP), with support from Foundation for Jobs, each pupil in a class is “loaned” £5.

The pupils then have to develop and make products they can sell, with any profits retained by the school after the loan is repaid to the bank, headed up by Sir Richard Branson.

The aim is to get children thinking about enterprise and business skills at a young age so they form part of their development moving forward.

Estelle Vasey, Charity and Community Co-ordinator for Virgin Money, said: “We were delighted to welcome the young people from Firthmoor Primary School to our Gosforth offices as part of our Make £5 Grow project.

“The children were a delight and colleagues were impressed with their sales techniques as they hosted an Easter crafts market stall.”

Staff at the Gosforth headquarters also donated materials for the children to take part in an Easter egg decorating activity during their visit and in addition the pupils were all presented with a chocolate egg to take home.

Firthmoor teacher Michelle True said: “We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved - it was a brilliant day.”

Tracy Allison, General Manager at Newcastle EBP, said: “We work to raise standards in schools and the achievement of pupils by adding a work related dimension to the curriculum.

“We have been involved in the Make £5 Grow project since the start and have been hugely impressed by the entrepreneurial skills and attitudes demonstrated by pupils from Darlington schools including Firthmoor Primary.

“The staff and pupils have been enthusiastic and committed to making a success of their business developing valuable skills along the way.

“They should be extremely proud of the quality of the products they have made and the expert way they sold them to Virgin Money staff.”

One of the key aims of Foundation for Jobs, a joint initiative to combat youth unemployment involving The Northern Echo, Darlington Borough Council and The Darlington Partnership of public and private sector organisations, is to build links between schools and business.

Around 1,200 schoolchildren have been involved in Foundation for Jobs projects which create those links in the past 12 months.

Children who have links with industry while at school are up to five times less likely to be unemployed at 25.