A group of Leeds Met students has won a competition to gain real life work experience within a large local PR agency.

Leeds based Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger has set up a student agency to work on a range of public relations and social media campaigns for national brands. The students will gain practical work experience and offer organisations the chance to work with young people.

Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger appointed the students following a competition for second year Leeds Met Public Relations students. The five students - Adam Burns, Steph Holloway, Lois Ackerley, Elizabeth Davies and Katherine Hesselby - were one of five teams to enter the competition.
 
Nathan Lane, Director of Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger, said: "This is a really talented and motivated group of young people. They shone during the competition and we are confident that they will prove a valuable addition to any PR campaign. They bring great insight into the youth market and bags of enthusiasm. We believe this provides a great opportunity for large organisations to work with students and get involved with the employability and skills agenda.
 
"It demonstrates our continued support for the Leeds Metropolitan University PR course and commitment to developing regional PR talent. The five students will benefit by working closely with experienced PR consultants."
 
Lucy Laville, course leader of PR at Leeds Met added: "Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger has created a fabulous opportunity for our students. The winning team will now work closely with experienced PR professionals to become practitioners whilst studying at Leeds Met."

Adam Burns, a member of the winning team also added: "The opportunity to be mentored by PR professionals whilst working on real clients is unique. We are really happy to have won and believe the experience we will gain will be invaluable when we head out for our placement year."
 
Ptarmigan Bell Pottinger parent company, Chime Communications plc is one of a number of companies that is supporting an initiative by Business in the Community (BITC) to improve the work experience their companies offer to more than half a million young people.