Scots College, Wellington

2008 National Winner
2008 Regional Winner - Wellington

National winners Scots College pose with the national judges after their win was announced.

Back row from left: Joseph Koshy (teacher), Dr John McDermott (Head Judge), Chris Mckegg, Rahul Panchal, Chris Bloor (Judge), Hamish Pepper (Judge).

Front row from left: Simon Vose, Nick Cross, Guy Finny.

For 2008 national winner Scots College, it was third time lucky before they made it through the Monetary Policy Challenge national final.

“Our school has entered the competition since 2004 and we were runner up in the Wellington region two times before making it through to the national final,” says teacher Joseph Koshy. “It was well worth the wait!”

Over the years interest in the Monetary Policy Challenge has grown at Scots College and this year, there were so many interested pupils, that the senior economics classes held a competition to decide who would make the Scots team.

This year’s winning team was made up of students from Year 12 and 13. As they reflect on their win, the team enthusiastically agree that the Monetary Policy Challenge has been one of the highlights of the academic year.

Team member Simon Vose says, “By giving it a real context, economics becomes far more engaging. It really makes you appreciate what the study of economics is about and how it can be used in a practical sense in the real world”.

Chris Mckegg would highly recommend this competition to anyone who is interested in expanding their economic understanding. He says that spending the day at the Reserve Bank and watching the press conference for the September Monetary Policy Statement was an unparalleled and truly memorable experience.

Guy Finny was fascinated to see the economy live in action. He got a clear picture of how New Zealand’s money supply is managed and operated and at a personal level this experience gave him an insight about possible career pathways.

“It is exciting to watch the economy live in action and think about what we would do if we were the Reserve Bank,” he says.

Their teacher agrees that what he and his students value most about the Monetary Policy Challenge is the chance to apply economic theory to a real life situation.

“The challenge ensures the students really understand the ins and outs of inflation and I have noticed that when they have completed the challenge, their analytical skills are enhanced significantly, a pre-requisite to achieve well in their final exam.”

During the challenge, Joseph concentrates his efforts on ensuring the final team works well together and can answer questions collaboratively and that they can explain economic concepts clearly.

“It is equally important that they have a comprehensive understanding of the flow on effects of their decision,” he says. “The Monetary Policy Challenge website has lots of good information to point them in the right direction.”