BUDDING young brokers from across South East Wales experienced the excitement and adrenalin of dealing on a live trading floor when they took part in the seventh annual Stock Market Challenge recently, delivered by First Campus.

The challenge, sponsored by UWIC’s Cardiff School of Management, involved 21 teams from 14 schools, with two teams from Abersychan School coming in first and second places with the highest portfolios when the closing bell rang, with Y Pant School finishing third.

The winning school received £500 for school resources, with second place being awarded £200 and £100 for third. Additionally, each winning pupil received £15 high street vouchers, runner-up pupils £10 worth, and third £5 worth.

This year the Stock Market Challenge has been incorporated into the First Campus Business Academy. All schools who signed up to the challenge were also invited to participate in ‘introduction to business’ taster days held in UWIC in the lead up to the main event. During the taster days pupils had the opportunity to experience workshops in entrepreneurship and careers in the finance sector (kindly supported and facilitated by colleagues from the Royal Bank of Scotland) as well as having an opportunity to experience an online version of the Stock Market Challenge.  The skills learnt paid dividends for the winners as members of the top three teams had all attended these taster days before the main event.

David Pritchard, Dean of UWIC’s School of Management, said: “We were delighted to be involved once again with Stock Market Challenge; this event just gets better and better each year. The atmosphere in the ‘trading room’ was electric and it was clear to everyone that the school teams had really got into the spirit of the event. The Management School is proud to sponsor this project and is keen to do so again.”

10 Lane Learning, Stock Market Challenge operators, also made this unique experience accessible to thousands of pupils by giving the participating schools a free licence for the Stock Market Challenge online resource. In the run up to the main event, Welsh Bac, business studies and maths teachers ran in-school challenges to select the five pupils to represent them.

At the main event, working in small teams, the Year 10 pupils were challenged to use their skills to manage a portfolio of shares and foreign currency. They had to make investment decisions by interpreting and analysing information from the financial markets. The simulated live trading took place over a two-hour period, the winning team being the one with the highest portfolio at the closing bell.

 The winning team from Abersychan School.

Participating Schools:

Abersychan School
Duffryn High School
Fairwater Comprehensive School
Lewis School, Pengam
Llanishen High School
Pontllanfraith Comprehensive School
Rumney High School
St Teilo's C.W High School
Tonypandy Community College School
Treorchy Comprehensive School
Willows High School
Y Pant School
Ysgol Gyfun Cwm Rhymni
Ysgol Gyfun Gymraeg Plasmawr