PUPILS at a Glasgow secondary school will aim to become the oil tycoons of tomorrow at a special roadshow.
By Lorraine Welsh
PUPILS at a Glasgow secondary school will aim to become the oil tycoons of tomorrow at a special roadshow.
The youngsters at Bannerman High School in Baillieston will put their oil trading skills to the test when they take part in the BP Trading Challenge.
The one-day roadshow, based on the oil giant's successful trading game model, will allow the youngsters to learn the oil trade, while focusing on enterprise and maths.
A team of BP presenters will mentor 20 teams of pupils, who will trade oil, react to market news and manage budgets.
The goal is to make a profit and work well as a team.
Two two-hour sessions will also help develop the youngsters' functional, personal, learning and thinking skills in a work-related context.
John Breen, employment officer at Bannerman High, said: "This is an everyday challenge for people who work in the industry, and the pupils will certainly get the benefit of it, in terms of upping their skills in maths and in business enterprise."
The whole package is part of Enterprising Science, supported and funded by BP.
Other schools also have the opportunity to attend a one-day course in a nearby location, to help them with activities and hands-on sessions, with a supporting website and resources.
BP is the official oil and gas partner and a sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics and has pledged to take the Trading Challenge Roadshow to every local authority across the UK by the time the Games begin.
This will give the pupils a taste of the competitive world of business, and allow them to explore some of the Olympic and Paralympic values.
Ian Duffy, BP manager of UK education programmes, said: "We are delighted to have created this free schools roadshow.
"Using the real-world context of business and enterprise, it makes learning fun and helps students enjoy vitally important subjects, such as mathematics.
"We look forward to inspiring many more young people with the BP Trading Challenge over the next few years."
