THE gap has closed in the race to be named winner of a popular business competition for schools.

Enterprising youngsters from ten schools are battling it out over the next nine months in the Future Business Magnates contest to find the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

After the first round of the competition, St Leonard's RC School was in a commanding lead on top of the league table, 61 points ahead of its nearest rival.

But after the results from round two were published yesterday, that lead was dramatically cut to only 20 points, after a storming performance by Framwellgate School.

During the second challenge - called What Do The Departments Do? - Framwellgate scored 45 out of a possible 70 points, finishing third in the round behind Durham Choristers School and Durham Johnston School, but the school doubled its score by playing its joker, to put it in second place in the overall league table.

Ron Batty, chairman of the economic policy group of the Local Strategic Partnership, said: "The feedback that Framwellgate got from judge Greg Johnston was really positive, particularly in relation to them working together as a team. It was exemplary, and this is a key issue for any business - with proper agendas for meetings, good minutes fed back to everyone and so on.

"It was a real coup for them to play their joker at this early stage in the competition."

Christine Paxton, a director with agricultural supplies firm Paxtons, is business mentor to the team from Framwellgate School and team members visited the firm's Pity Me headquarters to learn how the different departments come together.

She said: "They have been very committed. They are really professional about it.

"Children already have to do homework, so to have to do extra on a project like this is a tall order, but they have worked really hard."

Dorothy Creek, business enterprise manager at Framwellgate School, said: "The Fram Magnates have a real team spirit and are enjoying the challenges and I am very proud of their efforts."

The competition, launched in September by former Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson, sees schools from across Durham compete in a series of business challenges.

Devised by the Durham District Partnership and backed by The Northern Echo, Yorkshire Bank and Lafarge, pupils have been teamed up with mentors from the business community to meet a series of monthly challenges.

They lead up to the announcement of the overall winner at an awards dinner next June at the Ramside Hall Hotel.

The children have now moved straight on to the third round of the competition - What is their business going to be? - with projects to be submitted ahead of the January 16 deadline.

Mr Batty said: "The feedback I've had from the various business partners has also been good, and all of them are putting time and a lot of effort into supporting their schools which is excellent."

"I'm looking forward to the next round of results and I think it will start getting very competitive from then on."

Follow the progress of Future Business Magnates at www.businessecho.co.uk