Pupils from the School have won two prestigious national business competitions.
For the second consecutive year, a QE team took first prize in the Tune into Business competition run by the The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in partnership with The b-Live Foundation, a careers and community site aimed at pupils at secondary schools.
And Year 12 student Adeel Haque came first in the ifs Young Business Writer of the Year competition, with another QE pupil, Abhijai Shah of Year 13, short-listed to the final five.
Contestants had to write a 1,000-word article derived from the headline Does the UK economy need rebalancing away from financial services?
Competition judge David Budworth, Deputy Financial Editor at The Times, said the standard of all five finalists was extremely high. “One essay stood out. Adeel Haque’s entry was well-written, well-argued and powerful, without resorting to hyperbole or cliché – exactly the approach adopted by The Times’ leader writers,” he said.
“Adeel is to be congratulated, particularly as there were a record number of entries this year,” said QE’s Head of Economics and Business, Liane Ryan. “Adeel was commended for his excellent reporting style and analysis, together with his good research.”
Adeel’s prize was a cheque for £500 which was presented at a lunch at the ifs London office. Adeel has also been offered work experience this summer at The Times.
Tune into Business was won by four Year 11 Economists: Bennie Jaderberg, John Otugade, Marco Saccardi and Nigethan Sathiyalingam. They were required to step into the shoes of a high-powered music executive and decide on the most viable artist to invest in out of a choice of three. They had to justify their decision using market data, financial information and other social variables.
“We are very proud of the boys’ achievement,” said Headmaster John Marincowitz. “To win such a prestigious competition in two consecutive years speaks of a consistently high level of performance.”