Teams of high school pupils showed off their best entrepreneurial efforts as they braved the 'dragon's den' at City College Norwich - and raised more than £1,000 for charity.

Pupils from Taverham High School, Hellesdon High School and City College put their business brains into gear to take on a £50 challenge in aid of The Norfolk Hospice.

Each team was given 10 weeks to turn as much profit as they could from £50, before presenting their results to four 'dragons' from the local business world.

Hugh Mason, from Mr Hugh's Rapeseed Oil, Jason Howard of Insight Financial Associates, Esther Evans of STM Packaging and Su Ingle, a media and communications consultant, judged the event, which saw £1,338 made from bake sales, tuck shops, raffles and tie dying.

The team from Hellesdon High School were victorious, with their tuck shop business turning a profit of £223 and the judges praising their organisational skills and teamwork.

Taverham High School came second and a team from City College took third place.

'It showed us things aren't as easy in a business as you would think,' said Lucy Harvey, 16, from the winning team.

'The main obstacle was our teamwork - we learned to work more as a team as time went on.'

Hugh Mason, owner of Mr Hugh's Rapeseed Oil, which sponsored the event, said he was impressed by the dedication of those involved.

'Some of the students are about to take their A Levels - and if that's not a stressful time, I don't know what is,' he said.

'The motivation is the impressive bit.'

Many of those taking part were business students and some had experience selling items online or holding garage sales or charity events.

But they agreed the event provided valuable practical experience of running a business.

This year, the Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House celebrates 30 years of care and students were awarded medals and trophies as part of the celebrations.

The winning team also received a tree to plant in the grounds of their school and student membership to Cinema City in Norwich.

'It's helped us develop the skills we would need if go into business in later life,' said Fraser Tuttle, 16, from Hellesdon High School.

The Norfolk Hospice, Tapping House delivers specialist palliative care to more than 300 people a month at the hospice and at home.

Care is provided free of charge throughout Norfolk and the Fens, at a cost of more than £1.8 million a year.

Do you have a schools story? Email education correspondent Martin George at martin.george@archant.co.uk