Prof John Creedy chairs judging panel for Treasury Schools Challenge
(L to R): Gabriel Makhlouf, Secretary of The Treasury, the winning team from James Hargest College, and Professor Bob Buckle, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Commerce, Victoria Business School
Southland's James Hargest College, Christchurch Girls' High School, Otago Boys’ High School and New Plymouth Girls' High School gathered in Wellington last week for the 2014 Treasury Schools Challenge, which is supported by Victoria Business School and which gathered in Wellington last week.
The judging panel voted James Hargest College as the winner of the Schools Challenge for the third year running, and Christchurch Girls’ High School was awarded second place after coming second equal in 2013. The judges were unable to separate New Plymouth Girls' High School (also second equal in 2013) and Otago Boys’ High School, which have been awarded third equal.
The panel was chaired by John Creedy, a Professor at Victoria University’s School of Accounting and Commercial Law and a Principal Advisor at The Treasury.
Professor Creedy said the winning teams presented clear, considered advice.
"The James Hargest team provided a clear rationale for the issues they thought were most important for an incoming Minister to think about. Their analysis was well-constructed, supported by data, and linked back to an overarching theme. The team also presented confidently, with a nice touch of humour," says Mr. Creedy.
"The Christchurch Girls' team showed a good understanding of the issues and analysis of their policies, again with effective use of data. Their advice was well researched and their presentation was confident, engaging and impressive."
"The New Plymouth Girls’ team was very strong when it came to introducing the key challenge they had identified. The judges were impressed by the additional surveying the team had done, and this made it clear where policy intervention should be focused."
"The Otago Boys High School team made good use of independently researched data and calculations to explain the issues. The team was also one of the best at looking at different dimensions of the Treasury’s living standards framework when considering the merits of policy options," he says.
Every election year the Treasury produces a "Briefing to the Incoming Minister". The 2014 Schools Challenge asked schools to put themselves in the shoes of a Treasury analyst, and think about the main issues they think should be brought to the attention of a Minister of Finance following the September election.
After submitting essays, the top 10 schools were asked to present their advice to a panel of judges in Wellington. Teams were given 10 minutes to talk through their recommendations, followed by five minutes of questions.
Students from the winning teams will each receive an $800 electronic voucher, and the winning James Hargest College team will also each receive scholarships valued at $2000 to study at Victoria.
The Christchurch Girls’, New Plymouth Girls’, and Otago Boys’ High School team members will receive scholarships valued at $1000 each.