A TRIO of students are enjoying the sweet taste of success after being crowned champions in a fast-food design competition.

Max O’Shea, Ben Matthews and Fraser Felton are all students at Hedingham School and successfully toasted the competition from schools and colleges across East Anglia to win a Design a Sub contest hosted by fast-food giants, Subway.

The contest was the 10th anniversary of the challenge and pitted teams of young entrepreneurs against one another to come up with their own six-inch sub design and tailored marketing campaign.

The winners, who are all taking Business Studies at the school, came up with their sub dubbed InTENsify and pitched it to a panel of Subway experts at Cambridge University.

Max said: “We’ve really enjoyed the competition from start to finish.

“It was great to put the business skills we have been learning into practise with a brand we all know and love.”

The competition has also whetted their appetite for the future.

Max added: “It’s been a brilliant learning experience.

“Although pitching in front of the panel from Subway was really nerve wracking, it was such great preparation for the future.

“Winning the competition is just the icing on the cake.”

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Gareth Nolan, the boys’ Business Studies teacher from Hedingham School, added: “I am thrilled that our students have been announced as the overall winners for this year’s Design a Sub competition.

“Our students thoroughly enjoyed getting to grips with the challenge.

“It offered our students a fantastic opportunity to put the business and marketing skills they have been learning in the classroom into practise in a real-life business environment.

“What’s more, they have been able to develop important life and employability skills, such as research, communication, presentation and team work, which will hopefully stand them in good stead in the future.”

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Fighting off five other shortlisted teams, the group’s sub consists of Italian bread, meatballs, pepperoni, peppers, shredded mozzarella and cheddar blend, Chipotle sauce, chilli flakes and crispy onions.

Bagging themselves £1,000 worth of Amazon vouchers, the team will see their creation brought to life in more than 200 Subway stores across Anglia this spring.

Subway entrepreneur Adam May chaired the judging panel.

He commented: “The team from Hedingham School really impressed us with both their Sub design and campaign ideas.

“In this tenth anniversary year for the Design a Sub challenge, I am still inspired by the enthusiasm and ingenuity we see from our entrants.

“Selecting our overall winner was a tough decision, but the team from Hedingham School clearly understood the brief, did their homework and put together an impressive presentation for the judging panel.

“Congratulations to them, and indeed all our finalists. We look forward to seeing their winning design on sale in stores across Anglia in the spring.”