Enterprising young campaigners for a greener world have bagged a top Kent business prize. The Green Footprint Group, a company set up by students at Dover Grammar School for Boys, won the county Young Enterprise (YE) final last night.

They beat six rivals to the ultimate prize.

The business has sold more than 1,000 reusable cotton bags for life, preventing an estimated 52,000 plastic bags going to landfill.

The students have also taken their green message to five primary schools with a series of eco-roadshows and promoted their message at a British Chambers' of Commerce national conference.

The bags, emblazoned with the slogan "This Bag Doesn’t Cost the Earth," have also been sold to local retailers.

But for all their passion, they have not overlooked the need to make a profit and expect to end the year more than £1,000 in the black. They plan to keep the business going beyond the first year.

In a presentation ceremony hosted by kmfm news editor Anthony Masters at the University of Kent, Canterbury, the Group won a total of three awards, adding the Kent Messenger Group prize for Best Presentation and the Kent County Council Award for the Most Environmentally Aware Company to the top accolade.

David Howarth, the school’s director of business and enterprise, and Young Enterprise link teacher, explained their success. "We give them freedom," he said. "They have to be independent learners and they also have the right to choose whether they want to give their time to this project. It’s a sustainable business and they have great vision for it."

Company secretary Katy Tipping, 17, said after YE president Alex King, deputy leader of Kent County Council, had presented the plaque: "We’re absolutely ecstatic to be given this opportunity, really excited. We’re passionate about the business. It’s not just about selling our bags but getting young people environmentally-aware."

She explained the benefits of the YE experience."We’ve learned so many lifeskills - public speaking, networking, confidence and team skills. We’ve met so many important people and local groups that it’s been a big learning curve for us."

Other awardsFolkestone’s Pent Valley Technology College business Dare 2 Be (HSBC award for best company report and Phillips Man’s Shops Best Display Stand Award); St John’s History Society 07-08 from St Johns Catholic Comprehensive School, Gravesend (Kent Hospitality Award for Best Use of IT and ICSA Good Governance Award); and Hoos Business from The Hundred of Hoo Comprehensive School (Kent Foundation Award for the Most Innovative Product).

Other finalistsLe Fleur (Invicta Grammar School, Maidstone), Fourward Thinking (Tonbridge Grammar Schoool, Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys, The Judd, Kent College Pembury, and Bennett Memorial Diocesan School), and M* (Herne Bay High School).

The competition was judged by Peter Reeves, Kent Institute of Directors, Geraldine Allinson, chairman of the Kent Messenger Group, Dean Clarke of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, and Stephanie Bedford, former head of Angley School.