Over thirty five of our S5/6 students recently took part in the Investment Challenge competition against other schools across the West of Scotland using the Finance Lab simulation.
The competition, supported by Skills Development Scotland, seeks to promote careers within the financial services sector which continues to be a major employer and growth area for the Scottish economy providing 7.5% of all regional jobs.
Finance Lab is a simulated share and commodities trading game which improves business and economic understanding, shows mathematics in action and develops key skills such as team working, problem solving, critical thinking, analysing information and communication in a time-pressured and competitive game environment.
The simulation brought experience of working on the financial markets right into the Clydeview classroom. In teams of two our students bought and sold shares and commodities like professional traders after first researching the market, anticipating price changes, interpreting market data and managing their fund.
Just like in real life, prices were affected both by information in the news and by the impact of investors’ own decisions. Our 19 teams navigated their way through fast-moving, constantly changing market conditions with the aim to maximise their investment opportunities based on quick and accurate analysis by both the Investment and Media Analysts. The winning teams from each class were Reece Williamson and Alistair Carmichael, and David Muir and Jordan Lee.
A key part of the half-day event was an informative presentation on the range of financial services careers by Dorothea Sogaard and Marissa Gemmell from BNP Paribas. The presentation also covered several topic areas within the Higher Business Management course which will allow our students to better connect their studies to real life e.g. impact of regulatory or legal changes on their business processes and the importance of company values on corporate culture including team spirit, innovation, respect and fun!
Mrs MacMillan and Miss Straine, Business Studies Department