SEVEN Redlands students have been recognised in the state-wide Buy Smart competition.
Run by the Queensland government’s Office of Fair Trading, the competition encourages young people to think about issues of scamming and consumer rights.
“We all have to make decisions about how we spend our money almost every day of our lives,” a spokesperson for the Office of Fair Trading said.
“Because of this, we all face risks in the world of shopping and money.
“For kids and teens, some of these risks already exist, (and) others will start appearing as they get older and take on more responsibilities.
“The Office of Fair Trading runs the Buy Smart Competition to help school-age children learn about marketplace issues and become more informed consumers.”
The competition called for submissions of creative projects, with past entries including quizzes, board games, music videos and apps.
This year, more than 800 entries were received.
Year eight student Amelia Wakefield from Redlands College created a comic book called Scams: everything you need to know when purchasing online.
Oodgeroo MP Mark Robinson said it was an honour to watch Amelia be presented with her highly commended award.
“It was great to be with Amelia and her parents and Redland College teachers at the Queensland Parliament to witness Amelia winning a highly commended award at the 2018 Buy Smart Competition,” he said.
“Congratulations to Amelia for her hard work, innovation and success with the Scam project.”
Year six students at Faith Lutheran College Redlands, Nicholas Bray, Jonathon Culley, Mitchell Burchard, and Alex Wong, received a highly commended with their interactive Powerpoint presentation on what to look for when buying a car.
“Through student collaboration and interactions with technology, the Buy Smart Competition allowed the students to not only be consumer aware, but to also develop innovative skills that they can use in other areas of learning,” year six teacher Caroline Hay said.
“We’ll be buying cars in the next few years, so the competition was a good learning experience,” Jonathon said.
From Sheldon College, year nine students Madelize Breet and Alison Wu received a highly commended for their project, a display stand with customised brochures on how young people can travel on a budget.
Madelize and Alison said the inspiration for addressing this issue was their desire to travel in the future.
To do this, they wanted to learn more about effectively planning for overseas travel and how to manage money while on holidays.
“The standard of the Buy Smart competition entries is always high, and the creativity and skill of the children, particularly the younger ones, never ceases to amaze us,” the Office of Fair Trading spokesperson said.
