SCORES of teenage entrepreneurs will test the market for their innovative products at a special trade fair in a shopping centre.

More than 20 companies set up by schools across the county will take stands at the Templars Square Shopping Centre in Cowley tomorrow as part of the Young Enterprise scheme.

For many it will be the first time they have sold to the general public and it will give them the opportunity to gauge feedback on their wares.

Oxford High School will be represented by two companies, Oxygen and Azure, who will be vying to progress through the Young Enterprise competition and follow in the footsteps of fellow pupils from Eclectic who won top honours at the county final in May last year.

The team from Oxygen are developing a children’s guide around the sights of Oxford, using two fictional children.

To raise cash, they have been selling illustrated drawings of the city which they hope will be displayed during Oxfordshire Artweeks in May.

Joint managing director India Sehmi, 17, said: “We will be selling the prints at the fair and also displaying some pages from the book, Footsteps Through Oxford, to raise interest and take advance orders. We hope to launch it properly in March.”

Meanwhile, rival company Azure will be selling mugs that change colour and reveal slogans when hot liquids are poured into them.

The company has imported them from China after deciding there was a gap in the UK market for the novelty products. They cost £5 each.

Joint managing director Alice Anderson, 16, said: “It has been very interesting working with the Chinese company and the fair will be a really good experience for us. It will be interesting to see what people think.”

The stands will be displaying a wide variety of products, from clocks to cook books, and prizes will be awarded for the best-looking display and trading performance.

John Kennedy, chairman of Young Enterprise South East Central Area Board, said: “The calibre of participants increases year-on-year and we anticipate some innovative, creative and fascinating products from the companies involved.

“The teams are also assessed on their organisational skills, so putting a trade fair together will be a valuable exercise in team work, budgeting and management.”