Bristol organisations enter the dragons’ den to bid for £2,000

Release Date: 29-Jun-2009

Bristol Money Week - children decide who gets the cash

Sixty children will be at the Council House, on Wednesday 1 July, to decide which Bristol project to help promote good personal finance should benefit from £2,000.

Part of a groundbreaking new project for the city involving sixteen primary schools, 'What Money Means' is a programme designed to support them in teaching about managing money. Seventy 10 and 11 year olds have taken part so far.

At the event, organisations such as Bordeaux Quay Cookery School, Baggator, St Pauls Learning Community Team, Travelling Light Theatre and the Big Issue, will come forward to present their ideas and answer tough questions from the children, before a vote decides who gets the cash.

Bristol is one of a handful of places in the UK selected to take part in a National Programme funded by HSBC and run by the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg). The Bristol project is unique in the way that it is putting young people in charge of learning and business decisions.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Councillor Clare Campion-Smith, said: “Today it is more important than ever that we teach our children the value of money - both how to spend wisely and how to plan for the future. Our partnership with HSBC has added valuable expertise and I hope that the project has taught this generation to look after their finances sensibly.”

Head of HSBC in the Community, Pete Bull, said: "What Money Means provides much needed high quality financial capability education in schools. At HSBC we are very keen to see a generation of pupils who really understand money. What really excites me is the imaginative approaches adopted in teaching this material - and we have a fantastic example of that on show today. Bristol pupils are being given a chance to use what they have learnt to make a real financial decision. That is What Money Means at its best."

This is also the first time that children have used the council chamber to create a live broadcast on the web. The URL for their webcast is
http://www.bristol.public-i.tv/site/player/index.php?a=27015

Background

1. This year, as part of ‘What Money Means, schools have been supported by volunteers from HSBC, who assist with classroom teaching. They’ve helped teachers to:

- use real-life examples to make financial education more meaningful for children
- share their own knowledge and experience of how people manage money
- use local knowledge to link financial topics to real life situations
- explain their work to help children understand the role of banks

2. To find out more about the Personal Finance Education Group, visit www.pfeg.org

Author: Julia Walton 0117 9222732

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