Two sixth form students from a North Yorkshire school have been picked to take part in a prestigious national programme which aims to find the leaders of the future.

Simon Bailey and Lucy Brown, both aged 17, will join in the Fulcrum Challenge, a demanding project which takes outstanding sixth form students and prepares them for the worlds of business and major responsibility.

Simon and Lucy were among 30 candidates who were invited to take part in the selection programme, which was a weekend entitled Introduction to Leadership.

They faced a number of mental and physical challenges designed to test their leadership skills, and were among the 20 who were finally selected.

In October, they will participate in the programme's Environmental Project Weekend, when they will work on a "green" project in their own community.

Later in the month, they will visit a developing country, to see how life is lived away from their own homes. Their research will be presented to the Royal Geographical Society.

They will also spend a week shadowing a director or senior executive of a business, and finally, they will attend a leadership conference, during which they will receive a certificate.

Head teacher Carey Chidwick said: "It's a rare achievement for a school to have one student chosen to undertake the Fulcrum Challenge; to have two is remarkable and reflects well on the school, but most of all on Lucy and Simon."

If you would like to help sponsor Simon or Lucy, ring 01347 810392.

Updated: 10:42 Thursday, May 31, 2001