She’s a hard woman to impress and doesn’t take kindly to slacking. Straight-talking businesswoman Ruth Badger put students at Ounsdale High School in Wombourne through their paces at an Apprentice-style event yesterday.

The 2006 Apprentice runner-up from Wolverhampton challenged the sixth formers to come up with a profitable product or service and then grilled them in the boardroom.

Five teams competed for the first prize of a lunch with Miss Badger at Molineux in September. Team Dewbury was the overall winners.

Miss Badger, aged 31, said she was very impressed with the students and their inventive business ideas.

“There is some real business acumen here,” she said.

Rebecca Marsh, aged 17, was one of the project leaders. Her team Siadatan came up with the idea of selling cakes and bracelets.

She said: “It was a bit scary meeting Ruth but we were so excited to meet her.”