TWO sisters came within a whisker of winning an Apprentice-style competition with a computer game they invented.

Tamara Alshahib Lami, 15, and her sister Mariam, 16, who are pupils at the Cherwell School, North Oxford, won second place with their game iPicture Finance, which they had to invent, cost and pitch to investors.

Margaret Mountford, Lord Sugar’s right-hand woman in the BBC show The Apprentice, and former contestant Saira Khan were among the judges.

The sisters, from Carey Close, Oxford, also won £1,000 for their school and picked up their award at a ceremony in London’s Intercontinental Hyde Park Hotel.

The game is all about earning money. Mariam said: “Money is earned by photographing people and scenes, and then investing with banks to form ISAs, mortgages and pensions to ensure a sound financial future.”

She added: “We had a great evening and, although we were disappointed to lose, we are proud of how we did.”

Beating contestants from more than 400 schools to reach the final, the girls’ game lost out to a board game designed by pupils from a school in Manchester.

A judge said some entries which failed to make the final were “stunning”.

The final of the Financial Mail on Sunday’s Breaking the Mould conference saw the sisters pitching their ideas to an audience of 200 – including their parents, and classmates and teachers from Cherwell.

Ms Khan said: “The girls’ presentation was excellent. It was engaging, funny and creative. The game was innovative and well thought out, but maybe ahead of its time.”

Mariam said this was only the beginning for the pair. – who are already planning to compete on next year’s Junior Apprentice show.”

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