QUEST IS ON TO FIND BRITAIN’S 1ST ONLINE JUNIOR AWESUM MILLIONAIRE 

Over 3,000 youngsters have already taken up the challenge!

And now the race is on to find Britain’s first online junior millionaire with the winning youngster on course to win personal prizes, as well as £5,000 for their Primary or Junior school. Only two weeks ago, The Rt Hon Ed Balls MP the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, launched the Awesum Challenge money game at Ferndale Primary School in Birmingham. 

Now, with already 3,000 youngsters having played the game and many thousands more expected to play over the next four weeks, the tension is building to see who will make it through to the Awesum Challenge Grand Final at Birmingham University on Sunday 29th June 2008. Funded by the West Bromwich Building Society and the Mercian Trust, the AweSum Challenge is a new online mathematical financial teaching game designed to help youngsters aged 8-11 to learn all about handling and calculating the value of money and avoid the pitfalls of debt in later life. 

The online game is set in a fictitious ski dome where the child playing will be asked to answer challenging questions at three different levels. The free national online competition www.awesumchallenge.co.uk is open to every child aged between 8-11 years old and every school in the country with the closing date for the national leader board on 30th May 2008. (The game can still be accessed for at least two years from there on). 

West Bromwich Building Society Chief Executive, Stephen Karle, says: “I am delighted by the initial take-up of youngsters playing the game. The AweSum Challenge is a non-profit making game specifically targeted to teach primary maths, offering a real opportunity for children to learn in a fun and exciting way about saving and appreciating the value of money regardless of their own personal learning ability.” 

He added: “As a building society we are committed to supporting local communities and helping raise educational standards. This game is a perfect example of this. It has taken us two years to develop and, judging by the early results from youngsters, they love every second of it.  Above all, it will prove to be an invaluable learning resource for schools.”   

Picture:

The Rt Hon Ed Balls MP the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, with Stephen Karle, Chief Executive West Bromwich Building Society and Nicholas Johnson at the launch of the Awesum Challenge money game at Ferndale Primary School in  Birmingham.