Two teams from Colyton Grammar School in Devon have come top in our Student Investor Challenge competition, beating 9,369 teams from schools around the country. This is the first time that a school has had two teams in the final and taken the top two spots! The winning team from the school – RIJJED – is the youngest ever team to win the overall competition.
Our Student Investor Challenge seeks to engage young people with the world of finance through a trading game. The competition runs from October to May each year.
The winning teams were:
1st place: RIJJED from Colyton Grammar School, Devon – a team from Year 10
2nd place: The Default Skins from Colyton Grammar School, Devon – a team from Year 13
3rd place: Thanos Team from Mill Hill County High School, London – a team from Year 11
Alison Pask, our Managing Director, Financial Capability & Community Outreach said:
“We run this competition to reach out to young people from different communities and engage them with the world of finance. Children need to know how the finance sector works, the impact it has on their lives now and in the future, and how to manage money well. We also want to help young people understand that a career in finance can be ‘for them’ regardless of their background. That’s why we run this competition and provide financial education in schools around the country.
“Colyton Grammar School should be very proud of their achievement: two teams in the final, coming first and second is unheard of, and the winning team – RIJJED – is the youngest team ever to win the Student Investor Challenge. Impressive!”
Jonathan Shields, Head of Economics at Colyton Grammar School said:
“Both Colyton teams took this competition very seriously and wowed me with their research and hard work in seeking out value in shares. Thankfully, the market agreed with them and both of their portfolios soared.
“Then in the national final, they both delivered a master class in personal financial awareness that belied their youth.”
About the Student Investor Challenge:
Teams from schools around the UK compete against each other by trading two virtual portfolios worth £100,000 over a four month period. They trade their shares, trying to predict how share prices might move, bearing in mind market and economic conditions, to make the most profit.
- Trading replicates reality, with feeds from Bloomberg and the real costs of trading included. Students are challenged to make both long and short term trades, encouraging both day-to-day and strategic thinking.
- During the 1st stage over £2bn was traded across 134,064 trades – and 2,434 teams beat the actual market performance in both portfolios!
- The top 500 teams – those that made the most profit – progress to the semi-final.
In the semi-final, 500 teams battled it out over 4 weeks in our stock predictor challenge. The top eight teams make it to the grand final in London, to compete for a trip to New York City including a visit to the New York Stock Exchange.
In the final they undertake more trading challenges, then have to deliver a presentation to a panel of financial experts based on four scenarios, to demonstrate how their knowledge of investing and macro-economics could be applied to individuals with different investment objectives.
- 1st prize is an all-expenses-paid trip to New York, including a trip to the New York Stock Exchange
- The two runners up receive a VIP trip to London.
Student Investor in Stats
- 9,368 teams of four from schools across the UK totalling 37,472 students traded two virtual £100,000 portfolios
- £2bn was traded in total across 134,064 trades
- 2,434 teams beat the real market in both portfolios in the first stages
- 500 teams made it to the semi-final
- 8 teams made it to the grand final in London
- 2 teams of runners up won VIP trips to London
- 1 team won a trip of a lifetime to New York and the New York Stock Exchange. RIJJED were the youngest team ever to win the Student Investor Challenge.