St Mary's comes top in stock market challenge

The competition, now in its second year, has been sponsored by the Department of Education, Department for Employment and Learning and Invest Northern Ireland in partnership with School Employer Connections. It not only teaches young people about how financial markets work but encourages them to develop communication, problem-solving, decision making, teambuilding, and negotiation skills. The team from St Mary's finished with an impressive portfolio value of 87,900, beating their closest competitors St Patrick's and St Brigid's, who came second with 78,000. Competing against other post primary schools from across the region the Year 11 pupils worked in teams of five to trade in shares and foreign currency by interpreting and analysing information from the stock market. All the pupils taking part impressed the staff of Santander, NYSE, AXA, HML and the Financial Services Skills Council, there to support the pupils and to run the trading room floor. Danielle Guyler a member of the winning St Mary's team said: "The whole day has been brilliant. We all really enjoyed the challenge and it is great to have won. Everyone worked really hard and there was some tough competition from the other schools."

"Not only have we learned about the financial markets but the challenge has also taught us about the importance of working as team and also the need to communicate with one and other to reach our goals."

Commenting on the competition Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane MLA, said: "The economy and the financial markets affect our everyday lives. Stock Market Challenge is a great way to allow young people to experience first hand how the markets operate and, perhaps, even shape their future career aspirations, giving them a taste for working in financial services.

"The event, in its second year in Northern Ireland, is not only a great a way to make young people aware about how the financial market operates, but it also helps to develop employability skills. We are committed to ensuring that our young people are prepared for the world of work and the Stock Market Challenge helps towards fulfilling this goal."