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Business briefs

Kirsty Elleray
19/12/2003

SIXTH formers from Withington Girls made a killing selling underwear as part of a Young Enterprise Group set up by the school to teach the girls about business.

Eighteen students formed a company and created the range of customised pants, which they sold for £4, in school and online.

Lauren Wild, the sales director of the company, said they came up with the idea as the school provided a ready-made market for the knickers.

The 17-year-old said: "They are different to the knickers you can get in places like Top Shop and we thought it was a good original idea.

"They have pictures on them like Marylin Monroe and Audrey Hepburn, which seem to be very popular in the fashion industry at the moment."

The girls' range of pants proved to be very successful and they only had five pairs left to sell after making 400.

Lauren, who wants to be a lawyer, said: "We got all the knickers from a wholesalers, thongs and silk panties. We each did different designs, and put the prints on them or customised them with in our own way."

The Young Enterprise Group is made available to sixth formers so they can get a taste of what it is like to run a business. It is done in their own time, selling the goods in breaks and lunch hour, on top of studying for their other subjects.

Lauren, who studies geography, maths, biology and history, added: "We would like to carry on selling the knickers but we are also very busy with our school work. It has been really good fun, we have all enjoyed it, but I don't think I will go into the fashion industry."