Business acumen pays dividends

NATIONAL AWARDS:  Waterford brothers Paul and Michael Flynn took the top prize at this year's Golden Vale Young Entrepreneurs (YES) competition. The boys, from St Declan's Community College, Kilmacthomas, won in the senior category with Get Slated Ltd, a business based on the manufacture of quality slate products.

Galway students scooped both the intermediate and junior awards. Padraig Collins from Gairmscoil Bhenin, Gleann na Madadh, won in the intermediate section with Padraig's Wood Products. In the junior category, Siobhán Brett, Laura Neacy and Elaine Barry from Salerno Secondary School, Salthill, took first place for Festive Fiesta Fun, a novel Mexican party-game accessory.

More than 8,000 students took part in YES at county level this year, with more than 270 reaching the finals in the RDS, Dublin, last week.

Speaking at the awards ceremony Dan Flinter, chief executive of Enterprise Ireland, said: "I am delighted to see that the spirit of innovation and enterprise is alive and flourishing in our secondary schools."

The winners of the NTL schools and university internet awards also received their prizes in Dublin last week for designing innovative websites on a range of topics.

Tony Ayres and Niall O'Brien, from Blanchardstown IT won the top third-level prize for their site on introducing computer networking to students. At second level, Cian Hughes, Ciaran Fayne and Finbar Jordan of St Aloysius College, Athlone, won for a site focusing on people from Athlone who had been on the Titanic. The primary-school award went to Glór na Mara Primary School, Waterford, for their site on Irish mammals.