More than 23,000 11-18-year-olds in schools and colleges in the UK have received personal finance education in the 2021/22 academic year thanks to a Personal Finance Society initiative.

The Personal Finance Society’s financial education programme has organised a record number of sessions – many delivered by Financial Planners in schools - over the past 12 months.

The My Personal Finance Skills programme is aimed at students aged 11-18 years old and provides free financial education to schools across the country, often delivered by Financial Planners who have volunteered to help.

My Personal Finance Skills sessions explain topics such as payslips, debt, saving, insurance, and credit. They also enable Personal Finance Society members to share how they find a career in Financial Planning to be rewarding.

The PFS says the lessons help students understand more about money so they can leave school ‘life-ready’.

During the previous academic year 2020 to 2021, 630 sessions were given to students through the programme (584 remote, 46 in-person at schools). The PFS estimates the sessions reached over 18,000 students.

Despite some sessions being cancelled when the Omicron variant hit schools in the winter of 2021, during the current 2021 to 2022 academic year 700 sessions were held reaching more than 23,000 students.

The PFS says that a result of the cost-of-living crisis, the hundreds of Personal Finance Society members who volunteer to deliver the sessions have found an increased appetite from students to understand how inflation will affect the day-to-day way they manage their money.

Sarah Lord, President of the Personal Finance Society, said: “I would like to thank the hundreds of volunteers who give up their time, free of charge, to go into schools and help educate youngsters about managing their money.

“With headlines about the cost-of-living crisis, inflation and recession it is vital youngsters are educated and empowered with information so they can ensure their finances are in the best shape possible. These sessions demonstrate the power of Financial Planning as an activity and career.”

• Personal Finance Society members who would like to deliver My Personal Finance Skills sessions, can sign-up to deliver sessions by visiting: https://www.thepfs.org/about-us/initiatives/my-personal-finance-skills/education-champions/