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Girls' High students win Reserve Bank Challenge

CashFour Christchurch Girls' High students have shown they have what it takes to run the country's cash flow.

The team of seventeen-year-olds, May Yewdall, Hannah Grieve, Aria Molteni-Luporini and Alex Coats won the regional final of the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Challenge, and a spot in the National final.

Judges praised Christchurch Girls’ High School for the level of comprehension they demonstrated in their written submission and oral presentation.

“The team worked well together and impressed us with their detailed knowledge of economic theory and the real world experience they were able to apply to the challenges they faced,” they said.

Burnside High School received special commendation from the judges for their efforts and was awarded runner-up status.

“Burnside High School was an extremely worthy competitor,” judges said. “They displayed a strong sense of teamwork and understanding of economic issues.”

About the challenge

The MPC is designed to expand senior secondary school economics students' understanding of monetary policy and links to NCEA achievement standards.

Just like economists working in the Reserve Bank, each team analyses the economic conditions facing New Zealand and the outlook for inflation. On the basis of that analysis, they decide on an appropriate setting for the Official Cash Rate (the Reserve Bank’s interest rate). Each team presents the reasons for their decision in a written submission and, if selected as a regional finalist, an oral presentation.

Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard said: 

"The Challenge gets students thinking about how the New Zealand economy works, what influences it and the impacts of economic policy.  It confronts students with the difficulties and considerations involved in a decision-making process.  And tomorrow's New Zealand is going to need people with these skills, to help us do better."

National final

The Christchurch Girls’ High School team will compete against five other schools from around New Zealand in the national final at the Reserve Bank in Wellington this month. The winning team will receive $2,500 for their school and will be invited back to the Reserve Bank on 11 September 2008 to watch the Governor announce the Monetary Policy Statement.


The other national finalists are: Westlake Boys’ High School and Diocesan School for Girls from Auckland; Hillcrest High School from Waikato; Scots College from Wellington; and Columba College from Dunedin. The national final will be held in Wellington on Thursday, 21 August 2008. Teams will make a 10-minute presentation to the judging panel and spend 20 minutes answering questions from the judges.

August 2008