A new £200.000 conference suite opened at Burnholme Community College, York, at the start of National Enterprise Week.

Pupils and the business community of York and North Yorkshire will now share the hi-tech suite bristling with networked computers, touch screen boards and rooms full of communications technology.

The suite, which has a 60-seat auditorium and is equipped with the latest audio-visual gadgetry, is the crowning glory of the college since it was granted specialist business and enterprise status on September 1.

Conversion and extension of an obsolete L-shaped classroom into a venue which can be used for conferences, training seminars, exhibitions for advising business start-ups, lured 25 major business sponsors to back the college's plan to feed the community with the best young business brains of the future.

Now that the work has been completed by Burnholme builders A Kocyk & Son, the work of marketing the premises begins.

That will be down to Ben Sutherland, who has been appointed director of business, to oversee the college's business and enterprise action plan and build links with local firms, as well as John Fletcher, head of careers and business links, who has been acting conference manager.

Mr Fletcher said: "We did a feasibility survey which showed that York had adequate facilities for large scale conferences and for small business meetings, but there was a big gap in the market for an intermediate size venue catering for 30 to 60 delegates.

"Now we can offer them high level ICT facilities, flip charts, data projector, interactive whiteboard, networked computers, TV and video, public address system and buffet lunches complete with Starbucks coffee."

Head teacher Tony Gavin said: "There are also breakout rooms, including two adjacent computer rooms which can double as training rooms.

"We frequently video our teachers in action as a training aid and now the same facilities are available to the business community."

The new centre was put to the test on Monday with a Young Enterprise master class in which separate school teams were given tasks to hone their business skills.

Updated: 11:30 Thursday, November 18, 2004