Ahead of the competition

Pupils from St Albans School outperform stock market to reach semi-final of national competition

Posted by Stephanie Broad | February 16, 2016 | School life

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• #ifs-student-investor-challenge
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Three teams from St Albans School have outperformed the stock market, securing their place in the semi-finals of the ifs Student Investor Challenge, a national investment competition. 

Competing against 10,000 other teams from across the UK, St Albans School’s leading team made a virtual £7,000 in a three-month period of online trading.

The school’s three teams, each comprised of four pupils per team, will now go on to represent the School in the next phase of the challenge, where they will be awarded points for accurately predicting the closing price of certain assets on a weekly basis, testing a whole new skillset.

If successful at the semi-final stage, the school’s teams will have the chance to reach the national final in April, where an all-expenses paid educational trip to New York and £2,000 awaits the eventual winners.

The ifs Student Investor Challenge, run by financial education charity ifs University College, is the UK’s largest investment competition for schools in the UK. Free to enter, the competition provides teams with two virtual investment portfolios of £100,000 where they are challenged to make both short-term and strategic trades.

Gareth Nichols, Head of Economics at St Albans School, said: “We are thrilled that three of our teams have been so incredibly successful thus far. Their progression in the competition to the semi-finals reflects their collective desire to quickly grasp the principles of the stock market, as well as demonstrating their ability to work successfully as a team. I wish them the best of luck as they progress into the next round of the competition.”

Alison Pask, Vice Principal at ifs University College, said: “After only three short months of trading, the teams from St Albans School have already demonstrated their abilities to understand and navigate the complex world of stock market investing. Now at the semi-final stage, the competition will only become fiercer as a place in the national final beckons for those teams prepared to go the extra mile and hone their research, team working and communication skills even further.”

www.st-albans.herts.sch.uk