STUDENTS can look forward to swiping on a Tinder style website to select a prospective employer thanks to a 'Dragons' Den' crowdfunding session.

Mum-of-two Catherine Warrilow pitched her plan for a start-up company to business leaders and was rewarded with £1,000 cash to help her develop the idea.

Like the dating website Tinder, students will be able to swipe left or right to choose their perfect work placement.

The Work Experience Project competed with two other start-ups at Oxfordshire SOUP, a new organisation backed by West Oxfordshire District Council to support fledgling firms and give them a forum to crowdfund.

Mrs Warrilow, 37, who also runs a travel marketing firm near Wallingford, faced competition from Ken Norman's Flock Comedy, which promotes comedy evenings, and Claire Turnham's funeral business Only With Love.

But after each start-up pitched to business leaders at Wood Green School in Witney on Wednesday, the Work Experience Project was voted the winner.

Mrs Warrilow said: "I'm chuffed to bits that I have won and I can now get started.

"I already have a guy standing by to get working on the website and hopefully it could be ready by the start of 2017."

Mrs Warrilow said she would look for sponsors to back different sections of the site, following the pitch based on BBC2 show Dragons' Den where entrepreneurs seek funding from high-profile backers.

She added: "Students will be able to add their profiles and businesses can add theirs. I think it will make work experience a less daunting prospect for students."

Mrs Warrilow says if the website is successful in Oxfordshire it could be developed in neighbouring counties.

Father-of-two Mr Norman, 53, was seeking backing for his start-up Flock Comedy.

In 2000 the former bank manager, who now runs a sales consultancy, hired a theatre in London so he and a friend could stage their play for a night.

He said: "Schools and other organisations have been contacting me and I have been organising comedy nights for them with some quite well-known comedians, including Gary Delaney who appears on Mock the Week.

"For five years I ran an organisation called Cotswold Comedy but that didn't make any money. Now I want to make this a profitable business."

Eynsham-based mum-of-four Claire Turnham wanted backing for her funeral business.

She said: "I work with families to create meaningful and affordable funerals."

Founder of Oxfordshire SOUP Tina Marshall said the first pitching session was a great success and they hoped to run one every three months.

Mark Evans, co-founder of X-ray firm Adaptix in Begbroke, said: "Tina has done a great job bringing together business leaders to support start-ups."