Boroughmuir High School have been crowned the new Scottish Champions in the Young Consumers of the Year competition. In a thrilling quiz final held yesterday (18 March 2008) at Edinburgh's Napier University, Boroughmuir won a convincing victory over their three opposing teams; Holy Cross High, Fraserburgh Academy and Linlithgow Academy.
Ambar Pankaj (captain), Archie MacGregor, Nicola Perry and Calum Leslie won by 40 points from South Lanarkshire school Holy Cross High at the event. Both Boroughmuir High School and Holy Cross High will now go forward to represent Scotland at the UK Finals in Bournemouth in June, as part of the annual Trading Standards Conference.
And the victorious team-mates will celebrate their triumph in style at a prestigious reception tonight at the Scottish Parliament.
Bouroughmuir High's Young Consumers team has been invited to an Office of Fair Trading-hosted reception in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament tonight (19 March, 18.00-20.00). The event, entitled 'Making markets work well for consumers in Scotland', is being hosted by Dave Thompson MSP for the OFT and partners in Scottish Local Authority Trading Standards Services and Consumer Direct Scotland.
Teams entering the Young Consumers contest are quizzed on a range of consumer-related topics, such as: Environment & Social Responsibility; Money and Credit; Food and Drink; Keeping Safe, Keeping Healthy; as well as Legal and Consumer matters.
The aim of the competition is to make all participants fully aware of their rights and responsibilities as consumers, and to give them essential life skills as they prepare for the world of work and study.
The Young Consumers competition is celebrating its 22nd birthday this year and is run in Scotland by the City of Edinburgh Council and nationally by the Trading Standards Institute.
Boroughmuir High School will now go on to compete at the UK final in June with the aim of repeating their fellow pupils' success and making it a hat-trick of UK successes for Scottish schools - Boroughmuir High and Portobello High triumphed at the previous UK events in 2006 and 2007.
Councillor David Beckett, Vice Convener for Education, Children and Families at the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "Huge congratulations to Boroughmuir High School for clinching their hard-fought victory. Their win gives them the enviable chance of bringing home the UK title to Edinburgh for the third year in a row, and to emulate their fellow Boroughmuir pupils' success in the competition two years ago. I wish them and Holy Cross High all the very best of luck in the UK final in Bournemouth.
"All the teams taking part in the Scottish final have shown a clear commitment to the Young Consumers Competition. The value of consumer awareness and education shouldn't be underestimated, as it will serve the pupils well in the future, regardless of what they go on to do."
Gordon Macdonald from sponsors Consumer Direct Scotland said: "Consumer Direct Scotland provides practical advice which empowers consumers to resolve their own problems. We are therefore delighted to be involved with an event that encourages the consumers of tomorrow to become more aware of their rights. We would like to congratulate Boroughmuir High School on their excellent performance and wish both teams the best of luck for the final in June."
Gill MacGregor from sponsors Scottish Consumer Council said: "The Scottish Consumer Council is delighted to see so many young people taking part in the competition. The standard of knowledge about consumer rights and responsibilities is extremely high and we are certain that both Boroughmuir High School and Holy Cross High will put on a great show at the national final - good luck!"
Mike Drewry, UK Young Consumers Lead Officer, said: "Being fully aware of your rights as a consumer is such an important issue and that's why I'm so enthusiastic about the Young Consumers Competition, which has now been going strong for 22 years. As UK Lead Officer, I look forward to seeing both Boroughmuir High School and Holy Cross High compete at this year's UK Finals in Bournemouth, where I'm sure they will do Scotland proud."
The main Scottish sponsors at this year's event were Consumer Direct Scotland and the Scottish Consumer Council. Water company United Utilities gifted a £300 prize to the winning school and Scotmid supplied £300 worth of vouchers for participants. The Inspiring Capital Brand and the Anti-Counterfeiting Group also donated prizes for participants.
Media Contact: Katie Emslie, Media and Communications Officer, tel: 0131 529 2427, katie.emslie@edinburgh.gov.uk.
Notes to Editors
1. To request an image of the winning team, Boroughmuir High School, please contact Katie Emslie on 0131 529 2427 or katie.emslie@edinburgh.gov.uk
2. The City of Edinburgh Council Services for Communities department focuses on delivering better services to communities across the city, thereby improving everyone's quality of life.
3. Consumer Direct is a telephone and online consumer advice service funded by government and managed by the Office of Fair Trading. It operates in partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Services to offer consumers clear, practical and impartial advice and information. Consumer Direct has around 350 trained advisers in 11 contact centres across England, Wales and Scotland. The information and advice helpline is available on a single national telephone number - 08454 04 05 06 from 0800 -- 1830 Monday to Friday, and 0900 -- 1300 Saturday, excluding bank holidays and public holidays. Calls to the Consumer Direct 0845 numbers are charged at no more than four pence per minute from a BT landline. Call charges from other landline providers or mobile phones may vary. Please check the rate with your phone service provider.
Media enquiries please contact: Jean Mackenzie, Team Leader/Marketing co-ordinator, Consumer Direct Scotland, T: 01851 822300, jean.mackenzie@scotland.consumerdirect.gov.uk.
4. The Scottish Consumer Council was set up by the government in 1975 to promote the interests of consumers, particularly those who experience disadvantage in society. While producers and suppliers of goods and services are usually well organised when protecting their own interests, individual consumers very often are not. The people we represent are consumers of all kinds: they may be council tenants, patients, parents, solicitors' clients, public transport users, or simply shoppers in a supermarket. We speak up for them by communicating with the professions, industry, business, local authorities and central government, using careful research and persuasive lobbying.
Media Contact: To arrange an interview with the Scottish Consumer Council or for more information, please contact our media advisers, John Macgill and Andrew Ritchie, on 01620 820800 or john@morhamburn.com.
