The Suncorp ESSI Money Challenge pitted 5384 secondary students from 183 schools across Australia in an online test that measured the students' knowledge on money management.

Nhill College's Caleb Zanker came first in Victoria in the 16 to 18 year-olds category and Holy Trinity Lutheran College's Chloe Bolwell came first in the 12 to 15-year-old category.

Year 10 student Caleb said the challenge saw participants compete in a virtual world to try and achieve the highest net worth possible.

"The essence of the game was that you are in this virtual world where you try to manage your finances for 26 weeks of two to six hours real-time, and you are trying to get the highest net worth possible," he said.

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"Each week there would be an article about a certain financial topic. These articles contain an imaginary scenario and or expert who gives you a rundown on the topic.

"After reading the article you answer five questions based on that topic and earn cash depending on how many you get correct."

Caleb said he was "thrilled" to hear he had produced Victoria's best result for his age group and had learned important lessons from the challenge.

"I was quite surprised and thrilled when I found out I had placed top in the state for my age group and 18th nationally," he said.

"Even though I go to a fairly small school in a rural town it shows that as long as you have some determination and put in the extra effort you can do a lot better than you may think."

He said he had gained a better understanding on how to manage money once he started working.

"Money is something that we cannot simply ignore throughout our day-to-day life and to have the necessary skills and knowledge of how to manage it can have a dramatically positive impact on your financial situation in the future," he said.

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"I learned that even if you think you have a pretty good idea of what money is and how you can manage it, real life is going to be much more demanding and troublesome than a virtual game.

"I also learned that there is a lot more to money than you may think, things you may never have even considered to be related to money."

Year eight student Chloe got involved with the money challenge through her Humanities class.

She said coming first in the state felt "unreal" and thought it was good preparation for life after secondary school.

"It seems pretty unreal to get the best result in my age group in Victoria," she said.

"I think financial literacy is important because it helps prepare students for the real world. It introduces you to things you need to know about when you start working and how to manage your finances successfully.

"I learned to evaluate what a good investment and return were, what a good bank account and credit card was, and the importance of budgeting and saving for unexpected expenses."

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