Year 7 pupils from Eden Girls’ School have become the youngest ever winners of a national competition for young entrepreneurs.

Five girls from the school, aged between 11 and 12, fought off competition from around 5,000 students from more than 100 schools across the country to win the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge.

The team put together a Dragons’ Den-style pitch, where they developed a case for creating a secure online portal for students to exchange books, class notes, electronics and other items.

The Walthamstow school team’s pitch wowed an elite panel of judges at the national finals, held at global law firm Hogan Lovells on last Wednesday (May 4).

Eden head teacher, Shahina Ahmad, said: “We are delighted and proud of our girls’ huge success at Eden and share in their excitement.

“This win is a testimony to the fact that the power of positive thinking and self-belief can accomplish great things.”

The team, comprising of Sumayyah Bhana, Maria-Lilya Abbas, Misba Mullan, Yusra Faisal and Mahriya Zahid, were treated to tea at Harrods and a helicopter ride across London as part of their prize.

They also received £2500 for their school and a £500 start-up fund to help put their ideas in motion.

The Mosaic Network was launched in 2007 by the Prince of Wales to encourage young people to develop their entrepreneurial spirit and sense of aspiration, particularly in areas of deprivation.

The Enterprise Challenge, a national initiative which is open to students aged 11 to 16, gives young people the opportunity to interact with representatives from the business community.

Business leaders, from firms including HSBC, Jaguar Land Rover and PwC, volunteered time to given Eden students insight into what it takes to set up and run a business.