Schools offered chance to win £750 to invest in stock market

Retail stockbroker, The Share Centre is offering schools across the country the chance to win £750 sponsorship to take part in its national investment competition, Shares4Schools.

Shares4Schools is now entering its seventh year with the 2009/10 competition due to start in October 2009. The competition aims to bring economic and business studies to life by giving Year 12 students the opportunity to invest real money in the stock market.

Each team must start with £1,500, with the aim of achieving the highest portfolio value over the period October to June. The Share Centre is offering a number of £750 sponsorships to help schools get started. At the end of the competition schools get to keep any profits they make.

Last year 49 schools took part in Shares4Schools. Wellingborough School, Northamptonshire won the 2008/09 competition with a whopping 134% profit, leaving them with £3523.29 to spend on resources and school projects.

Commenting on how the team decided to spend their winnings, David Williams, deputy head of Wellingborough School, said: "We're delighted we won. The team made £3,523 in just eight months and certainly had fun spending the profits. They donated £1,500 to next year's team and bought a flat screen television for the school's coffee shop. They gave the rest of the money to a Romanian orphanage, which students had chosen as one of the school's charities."

Given the ‘credit crunch', banking crisis and ensuing market volatility, there's never been a more exciting time to find out how the stock market works. However, without real-world experience, students can find getting to grips with personal finance quite a challenge.

Explaining the educational benefits of the competition, Ian Benning, Shares4Schools coordinator, said: "Feedback from schools suggests that it is the ‘real' money element which separates Shares4Schools from fantasy-based competitions. Teachers have found students spend more time researching their investments and think twice before committing to a share when real money is involved. Plus, participating in the competition also helps to develop team working and decision making skills."

Registrations for the 2009/10 competition are now being accepted via the website shares4schools.org until 25 September. Schools interested in one of the many £750 sponsorships on offer are encouraged to register early to avoid disappointment.