Aiming high

Lee Solomons is 16 and wants to be a barrister. He believes his time in this classroom is crucial.

“To be honest it has to be the most important thing we’re learning here. Everyone should be able to do it. They should make time on the timetable,” he says.

David Gaze, the housemaster who runs the course, believes the message is getting through to his pupils.

“We feel finance is very important and should be part of what we do. These boys are the high flyers of their year but we aim to reach everybody eventually,” he explains.

Nayeem Khan, who is the managing director of magine, says: “We feel that 16-19-year-olds will find the material relevant and
interesting, because it is written by us - people in the target age group.

“We know what financial problems they face and thus have focused in those areas; a good example of this would be mobile phone tariffs and car insurance. The language is also easy to understand.”

The importance of teaching personal finance in schools is gathering momentum and the work at Columba’s College is very encouraging.

Marks out of 10

Working Lunch brought along a financial expert - John Turton from Bestinvest - to put them through their paces.

He asked them questions about debit and credit cards, compound interest rates and mortgages.

Overall he was very impressed. The fledgling fund managers have zuerich insurance finance got a head start in finance. Hopefully where they lead more will follow.