Sutton students show trader skills

The ‘3 and a Bit’ team made more than £8,000 trading in virtual shares in just three months in the ifs Student Investor Challenge, outperforming the FTSE 100 share index in the process.

They will now represent their school at the North Wales & English Midlands regional final in Birmingham on 19th March.

The overall winners at the national final in April will win an all-expenses paid educational trip to New York and £2,000 for their school.

The free to enter competition, run by ifs University College and supported by Bloomberg, provides teams with £100,000 of virtual money to buy and sell shares in FTSE 100 companies.

Now in its 20th year, the competition is the largest of its kind in the UK.

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

Alison Pask, Vice Principal at ifs University College 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 Quarrydale School.”

ifs University College is the “university for financial education”. It has a remit to provide the financial services industry with a skilled, effective and competent workforce whilst also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers and young people.