CHATHAM House Grammar School at Ramsgate will fly the flag for Kent in the south east regional finals of the national young consumer of the year competition.

Students Douglas Hall, Tom Packham, John Coverdale, and Michael Leal won the county final at KCC headquarters in Maidstone, where they will return in March with the aim of progressing to the finals at the Trading Standards Institute annual conference in Manchester in June.

After winning two rounds of heats against Mascalls from Paddock Wood and Highworth from Ashford, with a score of 77, 42 points clear of second place, the CHS team were pitted against Canterbury's Simon Langton School for Boys who won their heats convincingly against St Lawrence College, Ramsgate, and Tonbridge Grammar.

Third place in the finals went to Highworth as the highest scoring runners up in the heats. Top score in the heats won Chatham House the Stephanie Luxford Memorial Trophy, presented by her parents in memory of her dedication to the organisation of the competition.

In the final, Chatham House maintained their impressive form and triumphed 73 to Langton’s 39 and Highworth’s 32 points. The winners received a colour printer for their school and prizes from the main sponsors, Bose, plus P&O, Invicta FM, AMF Bowling, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Each heat as well as the final consisted of six rounds each on the subjects of social responsibility and the environment; consumer protection; safety and health; money, credit and finance; food and drink; and general knowledge. Quizmaster was Kent broadcaster Barbara Sturgeon.

The competition was filmed as part of a BBC series Trading Standards that will be screened on BBC3 in July.

Chatham House head teacher John Mathews said: "We have a very good record in the county and regional finals of this competition, thanks in the main to excellent support of director of business studies David Burney and to the enthusiasm of the teams.

"I am sure our current consumer champs will do Chatham House and Kent proud in the next part of the competition."