A COMPETITION to encourage entrepreneurs of the future has led to battle lines being drawn in one County Durham household.

Ian Storer, director of Corepeople Recruitment in Durham City, is acting as a mentor to one of the schools in the competition - but his son Sam is in a rival team.

The Future Business Magnates competition, devised by the Durham District Partnership, involves ten Durham City schools from competing over nine months in all aspects of running a business, from where to locate to how to advertise.

In the project, which is backed by The Northern Echo and sponsored by Yorkshire Bank and Lafarge, pupils from year eight are teamed with mentors from the business community to meet a series of monthly challenges.

Mentors include experts from high-profile companies and organisations, such as Northumbrian Water, B&Q and Durham University.

Mr Storer has teamed up with Durham Johnson School and is currently sitting in a very credible fourth place in the league.

However, his son Sam's team, from Durham Chorister School, is one place above Durham Johnson in the table.

Sam said: "We don't talk a lot about the competition, but it sometimes comes up in conversation in the house.

"I try and keep what we are doing quiet so there is no chance of Durham Johnson school finding out."

However, Mr Storer said he was trying to keep impartial.

"All of the youngsters I have come into contact with, both in Sam's team and my own group at Durham Johnson have been really enthusiastic about the project. It is great to see such energy for something they are doing in their own time.

"My own office has had youngsters down asking questions and doing research quite independent of me. It just shows the commitment they have to the competition."

The next results - which are printed each month in The Northern Echo - will be important as the two teams are currently running very close.

Sam said: "Our teams are very close in the league table. I would like to get away from Dad's team."

And he said there would be a rush in the Storer household for The Northern Echo for the next set of results.

l The Business Magnate league tables can also be viewed at www.businessecho.co.uk