Young Consumers of the Year 2006 - Boroughmuir High School

The Young Consumers of the Year (YCOY) Competition, run by the Trading Standards Institute (TSI) and sponsored principally by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), celebrated its 20th anniversary in London this year.

Teams of young people aged between 14 and 18, from 360 schools across Britain, competed in a series of heats to test their knowledge of topics such as consumer rights and responsibilities, money and finance, safety and health and the environment. The Competition culminated in a Grand Final at the ExCeL Centre in London Docklands.

The overall winning team, Boroughmuir High School from Edinburgh, received prizes of £1000 for their school, £400 worth of sports equipment and £100 worth of Argos vouchers each, and the YCOY trophy and medals. The other teams in the final were St Aloysius College from Glasgow, Allerton High School from West Yorkshire, and The King’s School from Lincolnshire.

Speaking at the event, John Fingleton, OFT Chief Executive, congratulated the contestants and said, “The OFT puts consumer education at the heart of its work, and we are very proud to have been the main sponsor of this prestigious competition for the last three years”.

Ron Gainsford, Chief Executive of TSI, said, 'We are extremely proud of the YCOY Competition, which, over its 20 years, has helped thousands of young people to become confident consumers and responsible citizens. YCOY has inspired some young people to become Trading Standards Officers; for instance, Sarah Smith, who is now Trading Standards Manager for Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, took part in the competition 15 years ago. The contribution of the OFT and other sponsors continues to make sure that the competition grows year after year”.