The Business Olympics for Secondary Schools competition, hosted by Revas in Poland, had 95 teams from 46 countries from as far afield as the USA, Russia, China, Germany, the UK and Australia - all competing against each other for the title. Our team were first in their market of 10 teams, which they led from start to finish and ended up a fabulous 14^th overall in the world. The winning team was a university from the Philippines, with schools from Germany, Japan and the UK filling the remaining top five spots. 

Barry Rodgers, Head of Business and Finance at SDCC, said: “This was a phenomenal opportunity for our students to pit their business brains against some of the finest in the world and their excellence and dedication to the task was inspiring.  It has been a great result and experience and can’t wait for the next competition to get started.

"Congratulations to our students for taking part in the competition. We are very proud of the fact that our school provides them with a space for development and gaining international experience. We are looking forward to the next edition of the competition, and placing even higher!" 

The participants were managing their own virtual travel agencies for seven virtual months. During this time they played seven rounds, making realistic business decisions and testing various strategies for introducing services to the market. Virtual managers were competing in 11 virtual markets adjusted to the time zones of their schools. The competition in every market was very fierce and the level of some decisions surprised even the organisers of the competition. 

Business Olympics for Secondary Schools is an international business competition for secondary schools. Participants in teams play the roles of virtual managers and compete for customers in virtual markets.  The main aim of the competition was to form appropriate business attitudes in secondary school students from around the world.  

Business Simulation Games are educational tools which students use to make real business decisions in a safe, virtual environment.  During the competition, the main task of the participants was to manage a virtual company in such a way that would help them achieve the highest possible result. Students were facing real managerial challenges like, for example, reacting to decisions of the competition and adapting their own offer to changing market conditions. 

Elżbieta Szczepaniak, Managing Partner at Revas, said: “Business Simulation Games reflect the competitive market that is constantly changing. In comparison to traditional learning, which is based on theoretical textbooks, trying their hands at simulations enables students or managers to learn and gain experience by making realistic business decisions. Thanks to participation in the competition, students were able to manage their virtual companies as a result of which they improved their skills in real life.”