Students at Oxford College of Further Education are taking Young Enterprise so seriously that teachers have tried to stop competition developing between them.

Two companies have been set up by second year students, to put the theory learned in their first year to the test, and outdo their competitor by making the largest profit.

Annabel Ramsay and Gemma Taylor are managing directors of, respectively Blue Banana and Image.

Blue Banana, with ten staff, is producing jewellery, while Image, with 14 staff, is manufacturing stress-relievers.

Business lecturer Liz Habbershaw said: "They learn a huge amount of skills, including keeping to deadlines, working as a team and problem-solving.

"They do it all outside the timetable hours and have put a lot of effort into it.

"They have been quite competitive and we tried to stop it a bit because, at the end of the day, they have completely different products.

"At the moment Image seem to have the edge over Blue Banana!"