TWO pals, who have studied alongside each other at school for the last six years, will now be working together outside of the classroom.

Annabel Ault and Nadia Barabash have won paid internships with the Deloitte Gap Year Scholar Scheme.

Just 30 teenagers in the UK were selected for the scheme.

The Bolton School girls will be based at the Manchester office where they have secured two of just three positions available.

Nadia, aged 17, of Heaton Mount, Heaton, said: “The Deloitte Scholar Scheme is an amazing opportunity for me to gain paid experience in a professional services firm before I go to university. I was extremely happy to be offered one of three places at the Manchester branch.”

They will take part in paid work placements each summer throughout their time at university.

The application included online tests, a group assessment in London and an interview process with two of Deloitte’s partners.

Annabel, aged 18, from Lostock, added: “I wasn’t too worried about the interviews, but when you’re sat across from very important people, it’s a bit nerve-wracking.”

As part of the scheme they will receive £1,500 travel bursary which Annabel will use to travel to Australia and New Zealand.

She added: “It’s always been a big dream to go, on my own, to the other side of the world.”

The girls will work alongside high profile clients described as some of the top talents in the financial world.

Nadia said: “I will be expected to quickly learn all the necessary skills required for auditing while completing real-life work for the company.

“I am really looking forward to entering the corporate world.”

But before being thrown in the corporate world, the two are going to travel together in the summer and after the placement will be going to Durham University.

Annabel added: “We might be fed up of one another by that point!”

Sue Hincks, head teacher at Bolton School Girls’ Division, said: “All the staff are delighted that the girls have been chosen to be among the 30 students across the country taking part in this prestigious scheme.

“It is a tribute to the girls’ academic and interpersonal skills that they made it through the various selection procedures, which I know are designed to be testing.”