Young entrepreneurs have used their business skills to drum up profits resulting in a donation of more than £4,700 for a children's hospice.

Year 10 Welsh baccalaureate students at Castell Alun High School, for the fourth year running, tackled Hope House Children's Hospices Dragon's Lair challenge.

The project involves groups of students pitching their ideas to panels of local business leaders to secure a £10 investment which they can use to grow into vital funds for Hope House.

The project forms part of the Welsh baccalaureate qualification for students as part of the Enterprise and Employability Challenge.

This year students managed to raise a record amount for Hope House of nearly £5,000 which, when added to the £7,000 raised in previous years, has been a massive bonus for the children's charity.

Nicola Sciarrillo, a Hope House area fundraiser, says she cannot thank students enough for their continued hard work.

She said: "Castell Alun students have really got behind the challenge and to raise so much money for us is incredible.

"Teams came up with all sorts of business ideas, from selling hot chocolate and cup cakes to bespoke Christmas ornaments.

"And the feedback from teachers and our business leaders who sat on the panels has been really positive. Pitches were very professional and the enthusiasm shown has been fantastic."

She added: "The money the students have raised will help us continue to support families and young people in Cheshire, Shropshire, Mid and North Wales at a time when they most need it.

"We are here to help our young people be as comfortable, happy and fulfilled as they can possibly be, through the specialist nursing and palliative care we provide whether at home or at Hope House or Ty Gobaith.

"And as well as emotional and practical help to parents and other family members, we also provide bereavement support and counselling to any family after the death of their child, whether they have previously used our services or not."

Castell Alun's head of Welsh baccalaureate, David Swale, says this year students had performed incredibly well.

He said: "The pitches were remarkable and the fundraising ideas they came up were inspired.

"As a school we are only too keen to support Hope House Children's Hospices and I know our students really enjoyed the Dragon's Lair challenge.

"To raise close on £5,000 in one year is a massive achievement and students should be rightly proud of what they have done."

Pupil Abi Bartlett says students really enjoyed the Dragons Lair challenge.

She said: "Hope House Children's Hospice is an amazing charity and we all wanted to raise as much as we could.

"The Dragon's Lair challenge is quite difficult, especially pitching ideas to a panel of business people we had never met before. I think we were all quite nervous."

To find out more about Hope House Children's Hospices please visit www.hopehouse.org.uk