STUDENTS at a Romsey school were given a challenging visit to IBM in Hursley.

Youngsters at Romsey Abbey C of E Primary School joined other schools from Hampshire in a bid to learn skills needed for a successful business.

Pupils were put together in teams to interview IBM volunteers and toured the facility.

Head teacher Julie-Anne Palfrey said she wanted the pupils to conduct research for any business challenges they might face.

She said: "Pupils went on a tour of IBM to gain insight into the great variety of jobs available in the world of technology and enabled them to do research for the challenge ahead.

"The teams were then given the task of designing an app to improve business communication. They had to think about the different functions and how these might help solve a communication problem.

"The day culminated with the teams sharing ideas about their app and how they had developed their problem-solving skills."

Chair of governors at the school, Liz Wagner, said: "The pupils continually astounded us during the day as they increased in confidence working as a team to produce amazing ideas for apps, and one of the Abbey school pupils said that they had such a great day working together and learning hoe businesses work."