TELEVISION'S Dragons' Den came to the classroom as an innovative approach of teaching took at Otley College.Students from four schools were invited to pitch ideas to a panel, in a format similar to the popular BBC TV show.

TELEVISION'S Dragons' Den came to the classroom as an innovative approach of teaching took at Otley College.

Students from four schools were invited to pitch ideas to a panel, in a format similar to the popular BBC TV show.

The initiative was part of the Young Apprenticeship Scheme, which has seen students take part in a pilot food assignment.

The winning entries included sausage rolls, chocolate kebabs as well as hot chocolate.

The students will now produce these ideas and if well received, they will be sold at the college to assist students in understanding the basic concepts of running a business.

Oliver Vice, a student on the course said: “I enjoyed the course and the Dragons' Den competition was great.

“Overall, the course is very different to school. You get more independence and that means a lot.”

John Nice, from Otley College, said: “Our teaching was cited as being good in our recent OfSted report and I believe this is partly down to the fact that we often look for innovative ways of engaging with our students.

“This Dragons' Den project was a perfect example of us doing just that.”