St Columba Anglican School students, Hamish Leslie and Maclaren Tierney have taken out top honours in a national competition aimed at improving financial literacy among high school students. Hamish and Maclaren were up against more than 7,950 secondary students across Australia in the Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge. They took out first and second place in the 16-18 year old category. The interactive online ESSI Money Challenge is run by the non-profit Financial Basics Foundation. Winners in each category received a $1500 cash deposit into a personal Suncorp Bank Kids Savings Account and a bonus cash deposit of $1500 for their school. Second and third place getters received $1000 and $500 respectively into a personal Suncorp Bank Kids Saving Account. Financial Basics Foundation Chair Brigid Leishman said while the winners should be congratulated for their fantastic efforts, she hoped everyone who participated learned some important financial life skills that they can put into practice in real life. "Like many, Australians teenagers have been struggling financially during COVID-19," Ms Leishman said. "That makes it more important to teach young people how to make smart financial choices now, and into the future."