More than 250 financial advisers have signed up to a volunteer scheme to reach out to schools and colleges in a drive to foster youngsters’ financial education.

The nationwide PFS programme, called Education Champions, has the objective of establishing an “active link” with every secondary school and further education college in the country.

Two days after being announced to PFS members, more than 250 advisers had registered an interest in becoming a volunteer trainer, a move the PFS says demonstrates “a significant appetite across the sector to play a key role in serving the wider community.”

The initiative followed calls from the FCA to add financial education to the core personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) syllabus in schools.

The concern was sparked by FCA figures last year, which revealed that 4.1m people had failed to pay debts over a sustained period of three or six months, 3.5m were borrowing from friends and family to make ends meet and just over a third of those aged 45 to 54 had prepared for retirement.

PFS chief executive Keith Richards said: “Our Education Champions initiative will provide important and complementary financial education for tomorrow’s generation and we hope it will ultimately become a key part of the National Curriculum.”

“Based on the society’s existing Discover Fortunes schools initiative, which uses gamification to demonstrate key financial scenarios, it will additionally help to raise the profile of a career as a personal finance professional to rank alongside other professionals such as accountants and solicitors.”

He added: “Our new Education Champions programme is a major step towards redressing the balance and raising the importance of personal finance management and planning - not only as a vital life skill, but also as a worthwhile and rewarding career.”

Volunteer recruitment began yesterday and training will take place throughout the summer.

The scheme will be launched in September, to coincide with the start of the new academic year.