A SCHOOL firm is climbing ladders after its specially-devised board game was snapped up by an international company.

The Paragon Young Enterprise team from Ribblesdale High School has devised the game "Witchways" depicting the history and culture of the Ribble Valley.

The game caught the eye of Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair when the youngsters visited Downing Steet.

She told them Ribble Valley had been one of her favourite places since visiting the Forest of Bowland as a teenager during geography field studies.

Now the games have been snapped up by Synetix, a subsidiary of ICI, as a corporate toy for overseas visitors.

And Ribblesdale High School Young Enterprise coordinator Neil Ashworth said the game was enjoying phenomenal success.

It has been exported to several countries, including the USA and Barbados, where it was proving particularly popular, he said.

Synetix information technology manager Oss Bozier said the firm was very impressed with the professionalism of the project.

"Over 98 per cent of our product is exported overseas, so the game will be given to customers who are interested in learning more about the Ribble Valley," he said.

Synetix bosses spotted Witchways at the Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley finals of Young Enterprise, which Paragon won.

Last year the Ribblesdale pupils produced an American-style leavers' book which netted them third place in the European finals of the competition.

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