The group mentored the youngsters from St Thomas Aquinas Catholic School in Kings Norton to victory in the West Midlands regional final of the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge and a creditable fourth place in the national final.
Students Jaazil Khan, Connor Peart, Rhema Joseph, Kieran Lediard and Jane Jeley benefited from wise advice from Martin Chapman, Adele Raiment, Michelle Perry, Vesko Petkov and Burhan Ahmed-Zoarder.
The initiative, driven by Mosaic, a charity supported by the Prince of Wales, aims to encourage youngsters to think in an entrepreneurial way. Students compete for six-weeks in an online business game where they must develop, market and sell a new product.
The St Thomas Aquinas team came up with a business idea called Team Fruit Cycle, purchasing fruit close to its best before date for a cheap price and selling it at school to tackle obesity.
Judges at the West Midlands regional final put it in top spot ahead of entries from King’s Heath Boys, Grace Academy Darlaston, Grace Academy Solihull and Grace Academy in Coventry.
The pupils said: “We can’t believe we won! It was thanks to the support of our mentors and teachers who have helped us every step of the way.”
Mr Petkov, regional corporate and international tax director at Mazars, said: “We are delighted for the students. The business game and the Dragon’s Den style presentation that they had to deliver at the regional final helped them appreciate that hard effort, passion and determination pay off.
“Mentoring students like this is something we enjoy and is part of Mazars’ commitment to the communities in which we live and work.”
Run annually, the Mosaic Enterprise Challenge is a national competition that aims to inspire, provide knowledge, raise aspirations, confidence, self-efficacy and long term employability among secondary school pupils from some of the most deprived communities across the UK.
Nationwide, more than 4,500 students took part this year.
The overall winners were a group of five Year 7s from Eden Girls School in Waltham Forest who impressed the judges with their idea for an online trading portal where pupils can buy and swap items.
Their school received £2,500 while the team got £500 to put towards beginning their business for real plus they were taken on a luxury helicopter tour of London.