STUDENTS at Presentation Secondary School in Tralee will be hoping for a two in a row as they prepare for the national AIB Build A Bank competition finals.

‘The Blossom Bank’ will be hoping to emulate last year’s entry from the school, ‘The Dream Bank’, which won the top award last year.

The AIB Build a Bank Challenge sees a team of six students selected to set up and manage a bank in their school with the full support of a dedicated AIB Student Officer.

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The students get involved in everything from developing a Business Plan, branding their Bank and engaging with the community to sourcing new customers through creative marketing campaigns.

The Blossom Bank came in the top five in the regional competition in Cork recently and qualified for the national finals on April 21.

The group had a very successful launch with Pat Sheehy from rock group ‘Walking On Cars’ lending his support. They had saving schemes and undertook a banking research project which looked into which services businesses considered most important and the importance of having a good relationship with their bank.

The girls received a lot of support from teachers and from members of the business community, including Frank Hayes of Kerry Group, Mike Mangan of Lee Strand, Margaret Kissane of Connect Publications and Tim Brosnan of 3 Ireland. Best of luck in the finals next month ladies.