Falkirk area pupils earn national business award for their high school

The S3 youngsters from Larbert High School – Lauren Anderson, Katie Mackay and Lily Strachan – took home the top prize of £800 for their school and each earned themselves £150 vouchers as they captured the crown in the finals of the 13-16 year age group at this year’s Growing Future Assets Investment Competition, which aims to nurture the next generation of female investment experts.

The girls had to compete against Bishopbriggs Academy, in East Dunbartonshire to win the contest.

Lauren said: “The Growing Future Assets Competition was a huge opportunity for me to look into finance and investment, which had never crossed my mind as a future career before entering the contest.

“It truly made me realise that, as a woman, I can get involved in male dominated industries such as investment and finance."

Proud Larbert High School business education teacher Thomas Darling said: “The Growing Future Assets Investment competition has been a fantastic opportunity to provide girls with an insight into a traditionally male dominated industry."

During the competition youngsters had to prove their ability to spot the next big investment prospect by researching, analysing and pitching a company, from a selection of 38 businesses, they considered a great long-term venture.

The Larbert High School team pitched Accsys Technologies which produces high-performance building material from renewable wood sources.

The Larbert High School team mentor Cameron Osborne, a senior client governance analyst at First Sentier Investors, was also proud of the trio’s achievements.

He said: “I was delighted to hear the girls had won the junior category of the Future Asset competition with their investment pitch for Accsys Technologies Plc. They

should be immensely proud of this achievement.

“It has been a great experience working with them to develop their ideas and beliefs into a successful investment case. I was incredibly impressed by their work ethic and their determination to find a company that aligned with their philosophy of addressing environmental and social issues while delivering strong business results.”

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