TWENTY teenagers are taking part in a major new Apprentice-style challenge – and six of them will be told "you're hired".

The 15 and 16-year-olds are all pupils at Mitchell Business And Enterprise College, in Bucknall, and will spend the next nine months completing a series of inventive tasks.

Along the way, they will be mentored by some of North Staffordshire's top business brains, who will help nurture their entrepreneurial skills and act as role models.

The challenge was officially launched at the school yesterday, where young people were assigned to four teams and told their first task.

By Christmas, the contestants are expected to be whittled down to a dozen serious contenders and the final winners will land summer jobs with local firms after taking their GCSEs.

The Step Up competition has been created by Waterworld owner Mo Chaudry (below) and teachers at Mitchell, who wanted to do something different to motivate pupils and help them achieve.

The teenagers will also be tracked by researchers from Staffordshire University to see how it has affected their lives. Mr Chaudry hopes the trailblazing scheme will eventually be taken up by other schools across the country.

"We have got some great projects lined up for the young people. It's going to be really exciting," he said.

Waterworld is one of the firms promising summer jobs at the end of the project. The others are the Best Western Stoke-on-Trent Moat House in Etruria, Steelite International, Aspire Housing, Tile Giant, and the YMCA. Darts ace Phil Taylor has also thrown his support behind Step Up and he officially unveiled the first task in the school boardroom yesterday.

He said: "I've come from a working-class background and have done well for myself. If I can do it, then why can't others? I think it's a great idea and I'll be coming along to see some of the other tasks and do some judging."

The first task involves giving each group £100, which they will use as start-up funds for fund-raising activities in aid of the Donna Louise Trust and the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. Each group has seven months to make as much money as possible.

Aron Smith, who is one of the wannabe apprentices, said: "We are thinking about doing open days at school and sports events to raise the money.

"We've been thrown into this, but it's going to be good. The jobs sound good as well. I really want to win."

Lee Pearce, aged 15, added: "We didn't know what we would be doing until we came here today. I think it's going to be fun."

The college has designed a Facebook-style website to help the pupils keep in touch with their mentors.