The business leaders of the future go head to head tomorrow night as they battle for honours in the county finals of the Young Enterprise Awards.

Nine teams from schools across Oxfordshire have been running their own companies sincle last September producing a range of items from jewellery to computer software.

At the School of St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon, the Cloud 9 company have been doing a brisk trade in jewellery which they have made from waste materials such as bottle tops and sweet wrappers, a process they have dubbed “upcycling.”

Hannah Gould, 15, secretary of the company which has 25 staff, said: “The whole idea was taking rubbish and turning itn into something beautiful.

“It has been an invaluable experience and has taught us a lot about business.”

More than 550 students all aged between 15 and 17 set up 40 Young Enterprise companies at the start of the academic year.

The top nine who qualified through three area finals will now compete for a range of honours and the ultimate accolade of being named the Oxfordshire Young Enterprise Company of the Year.

That company will then go forward to the regional final in Maidstone, Kent, in June and if that is won, a national final where the best companies from across the country will be judged.

Oxford High School company Oxygen has produced a children’s guide book to Oxford .

IT director Florence Cahill, 17, said: “We are really looking forward to the county final. We have a good product and feel confident.”