A GROUP of young entrepreneurs would be the first to admit their business is pants — but it’s a big success. Pupils at St Helen and St Katharine school, Abingdon have set up their own company, Magma, under the Young Enterprise Scheme, designing retro tie-dyed underwear.

Director Laura Hand, 17, said: “We have made about 150 pairs and have sold almost all of them. We conducted some market research and found children wanted colourful underwear and decided to put a spin on it and try to bring tie-dye back.”

The company buys plain underwear and T-shirts before dyeing them and selling at school events and Young Enterprise trade fairs in Cowley and Stratford.

Ms Hand added: “It is really fun and has given us great experience of running a business in the real world.”

Magma will compete in the area finals of the competition on April 28.

Meanwhile, another Young Enterprise company from Burford School, called ZaZu, presented a clock they had made from an old vinyl record to Green Oxford city councillor Nuala Young.

ZaZu’s environmental director, George Middleton, 16, said: “We are reusing vinyl records which we have salvaged from municipal tips and we are reusing packaging.”

Young Enterprise involves school students setting up and running their own businesses for a year.