Students invest their knowledge (From Kidderminster Shuttle)

Students invest their knowledge

8:00am Tuesday 22nd January 2013 in News By Cadisha Brown

BUSINESS-savvy students of a Kidderminster school have been named as monthly regional winners in a national investment contest.

The team of four Baxter College pupils will now be entered into a wildcard draw, where they could win a place in the regional final of the ifs Student Investor Challenge, which will be held in March.

If successful at the regional final stage, they could progress to the national final, where an allexpenses paid educational trip to New York and £2,000 for their school is up for grabs.

The competition, run by financial education charity ifs School of Finance, provides teams with £100,000 of virtual money to buy and sell shares in FTSE 100 companies.

It gives teams of four students aged 14 to 19 the chance to experience the dynamic world of share dealing and investing in the stock market.

The Baxter team, called Womble King, was made up of Year 11 students Daniel Jackson, who was team leader, Jack Halford, Rebecca Williams and Joseph Scriven.

They increased their share portfolio value by nearly £15,000 in December, outperforming the FTSE 100 since the start of trading.

Peter Powell, teacher at the school, said: “Students are really enjoying this real-world stock market experience.

“They are constantly researching and making educated decisions on what shares to purchase.

“These students are the business brains of the future and we all will be looking for investment advice from them in a few years, no doubt.”

Rod McKee, vice-principal of the ifs, said: “This competition gives students the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of making investment decisions, which will benefit them throughout their lives when making financial choices.

“It also introduces them to core concepts such as risk, reward and diversification. This is a real achievement and many congratulations go to the team from Baxter College.”