An enterprising restaurant project at a North Lanarkshire secondary school – run in conjunction with Motherwell College – has been named the Regional Winner for Scotland and Northern Ireland by a leading magazine.

Cardinal Newman High's Snapdragon restaurant in Bellshill picked up the prestigious title after been selected as one of three regional finalists by Restaurant magazine – the UK's only magazine for and about the restaurant industry.

The school will now go on to compete against four other colleges from across the UK for the coveted title of College Restaurant of the Year 2007.

The College Restaurant of the Year (CROTY) competition is open to all schools, colleges and universities across the UK that offer nationally-recognised qualifications in catering and hospitality and who have an in-house restaurant that is open to the public and staffed by students.

Victoria Prior, Events and Marketing Manager at Restaurant magazine, said: "We launched the CROTYs in 2003 to do our little bit to encourage some of tomorrow's restaurant talent today, and we'd like to think that over the past four years we've managed to do just that. Indeed the talent we have seen to date throughout the judging this year has been impressive."

Entrants compete for one of five regional titles: London & The South; The East; Wales, Midlands & The West; The North; and Scotland & Northern Ireland. Menus are judged on passion, creativity and originality, while the overall judging includes service, presentation, organisation, kitchen skills and teamwork.

Winners of each of the regional finals – Snapdragon for Scotland and Northern Ireland – then go forward to compete for the overall College Restaurant of the Year title, which will be announced next month.

Snapdragon is part of Cardinal Newman's junior hospitality academy – the cornerstone of the school's innovative School of Ambition programme, funded by the Scottish Executive.

The junior hospitality academy provides a state-of-the-art professional kitchen and the 30-seat Snapdragon restaurant. It offers third and fourth-year pupils a combination of theory and practical courses through the Intermediate II course in Hospitality: Professional Cookery – the only school in Scotland to be able to do so.

The course – delivered by lecturers from Motherwell College – covers subjects such as food preparation techniques, cookery processes, and food hygiene. The school complements this with teaching on financial accountancy, front office procedures, business communication, and marketing and selling to provide pupils with a rounded education in hospitality.

Snapdragon has proved to be a big hit with pupils, staff and the local community alike and has been used to entertain local senior citizens as well as visiting guests – including the First Minister who officially opened the junior hospitality academy in October last year and the Restaurant magazine judges, who visited the school last week.

Isabelle Boyd, Head Teacher of Cardinal Newman High, said: "We were all delighted to make it to the regional finals of this fantastic competition and to win is just the icing on the cake.

"Everyone involved takes tremendous pride in delivering a quality and professional service at all times and we are indebted to all our partners, particularly Motherwell College, for making the restaurant such a success in a very short space of time.

"The main objective of our School of Ambition programme has always been to develop positive skills and attitudes within our young people and to show them just what they can do. Being named Regional Winner for Scotland and Northern Ireland is proof of what our pupils can achieve and I hope they carry that ambition with them as they grow and develop."

Motherwell College Principal and Chief Executive, Hugh Logan, said: "We are delighted the hard work of the young people involved in the restaurant has been recognised. Motherwell College and Cardinal Newman High have developed an excellent partnership, the success of which is demonstrated through winning this award".

Councillor Charlie Gray, Convener of North Lanarkshire Council's Education Committee, added: "Once again, North Lanarkshire is leading the way in education and setting a path for others to follow, which is just terrific. We are working to transform the school experience for our pupils, and there can be no doubt that we are achieving this on a daily basis.

"The School of Ambition programme focuses on our pupils and that is why I am so pleased that Snapdragon has picked up this wonderful accolade – it's testament to the efforts and commitment of the pupils at Cardinal Newman High and my congratulations go to them all."