Year 12 student Adeel Haque has won the prestigious ifs Young Business Writer of the Year competition.
“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.”
Another QE pupil, Abhijai Shah of Year 13, was also 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’s prize is a cheque for £500 was presented at a lunch at the ifs London’s office. Adeel has also been offered work experience this summer at The Times.
The ifs School of Finance (formerly Institute of Financial Services) is a registered charity, incorporated by Royal Charter. Its stated remit is “to provide the financial services industry with a skilled and competent workforce while also promoting a better understanding of finance amongst consumers”.