A Barnet school was selected to compete in the final round for a prestigious enterprise award.

The Henrietta Barnett School went head to head against schools in Greater London at for the Young Enterprise Company of the Year award.

The girls’ venture, Firefly, was a children’s book company, but ultimately lost out to a waterproof notepad company from St Paul’s School in Richmond.

Michael Mercieca, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise, said: “You don’t get this stuff from a text book and we are greatly encouraged by our research which shows that 95% of Company alumni go on to education, employment or training - 7% higher than the national average of 88%.”

The education charity, Young Enterprise, trains teachers in financial and enterprise education by providing more than 6,000 volunteers and 3,500 businesses to help deliver their expertise of business skills.

UK chief executive of HSBC Ian Stuart, which supports the programme, said: “We’re delighted to support Company Programme with HSBC volunteers working with students across the country.

“It’s fantastic to see students deal with real life business decisions and develop employability skills such as creativity, resilience and communication.”