Loreto win NI Bank of England Challenge

A team from Loreto College, Coleraine, has qualified for the area finals of the Bank of England Target 2.0 Interest Rate Challenge, having won the Northern Ireland heat, held in the Ramada Hotel, Belfast.
By The Newsroom
Published 5th Dec 2012, 08:14 BST

It’s the ninth time in eleven years the school has reached the finals. This year they are represented by Year 13 students Niamh Dowdall, Alice McGee, Ruairi McPoland and Nicole O’Hagan, During the 43 regional heats, teams of four students, aged 16 to 18, analyse UK and global economic data and their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK - just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month.

Each team must decide if current monetary policy is appropriate or needs to be adjusted, to meet the 2.0 per cent inflation target set by the Government.

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The Loreto team recommended an interest rate of 0.5% compared with the Bank of England’s official rate of 0.5% set by the Monetary Policy Committee on November 8.

They also recommended a total of £375bn of asset purchases under the Asset Purchase Facility, compared with the £375bn agreed by the MPC on 8 November 2012.

The chair of the judging panel, Frances Hill, said “Once again we were extremely impressed by the standard of presentations today, which clearly reflected the hard work and commitment shown by all the teams”.

The students and their teacher, vice principal Miss Belinda Toner, were congratulated on this tremendous success by headmaster Michael James.

Related topics:ColeraineNorthern IrelandBelfast