THE top award at a ceremony celebrating the skills of young entrepeneurs has been won by a bunch of cowboys.

But far from being a dodgy outfit, the team from Matthew Arnold School in Cumnor Hill, Oxford, impressed judges with a presentation that included line dancing and miming to promote their firm, MAYEC-21, which sells cacti in fancy pots.

The 16 and 17-year-olds won the Grant Thornton Shield for Best Company at the county finals of the Young Enterprise Awards.

The scheme, supported by the Oxford Mail, involved about 700 students at 34 schools and colleges in Oxfordshire who set up and run their own businesses.

MAYEC-21 beat seven other school businesses at the Culham Science Centre, near Abingdon, last night. The firm, which made a profit of £290 from sales of cacti to pupils, teachers and parents, will now compete at the south east finals later this year.

Joint managing director Edward Baxter said: "We decided to do something different with the line dancing. I think the secret of running a business is to enjoy yourself."