DRAGONS’ Den personality Peter Jones is set to help the next generation of entrepreneurs by opening branches of his business academy in Oxfordshire.

The multi-millionaire star of the BBC TV show will offer youngsters a chance to study a BTEC Diploma in enterprise and entrepreneurship at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College’s Oxpens Road and Banbury campuses.

Mr Jones’s National Enterprise Academy will offer its qualification, equivalent to two A-Levels, which will see Students as young as 16 setting up and running their own businesses.

College principal Sally Dicketts said she hoped it would inspire a new generation of businessmen in the county.

She said: “I think one of the problems in this country is that when you’re being educated, it’s within the public sector and because of the way we’re managed and organised by the state, taking risks is something we’re not really encouraged to do.

“If you’re not careful, a whole ethos of being risk-averse passes on to students.”

Half of the classes will be taught by businessmen, rather than lecturers.

Mr Jones launched the academy in 2008, announcing he wanted to change the British attitude to risk-taking.

Its first campus opened in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, in 2009, and sites opened in Manchester and Sheffield last year. The course will now be on offer in both Oxford and Banbury from September.

Mr Jones said: “2011 marks a very important year for our Enterprise Academy, and key to this is our exciting announcement of new commissioned college partners, including Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.

“Not only does this really begin to expand our nationwide presence, I’m delighted that it will also enable hundreds of budding entrepreneurs across the UK to develop the skills and hands-on experience needed to embark on a successful entrepreneurial future.”

The Dragon, worth an estimated £220m, made his fortune with Phones International Group, before investing in a range of industries, including Levi Roots’ Reggae Reggae sauce.

Ms Dicketts added: “A lot of schools offer enterprise days, but most kids groan at the thought , because they know it’s not real, and after a day they go back to being who they were.

“With this course, it becomes your life from day one. It offers students the opportunity to experiment with their ideas. And if they really believe in something, they can see if it will work.”

Students will be expected to come to class in business suits and work from 9am-5pm five days a week.

Level Two courses will prepare teenagers for a life in business, including a four-week placement.

At Level Three, equivalent to two A-Levels, students will set up their own firms and pitch for investment, as well as receiving coaching in how to run a company.

The college has already run enterprise modules with US colleges.