The Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne was a special guest at Wilmslow High School on Friday, 27th May, as Year 7 pupils took part in an award-winning education programme that uses rugby to teach young people about better money management.
The Tatton MP visited a group of 80 pupils to see them take part in 'MBNA Number Cruncherz' - a programme created by Premiership Rugby side Sale Sharks and Chester-based financial services company MBNA to help improve financial literacy amongst 11-12 year olds.
The Chancellor joined in with a series of workshops as the Year 7 children tackled topics including budgeting, needs and wants, and income and expenditure which were delivered by Sale Shark's community coaches and brought to life through rugby-based scenarios.
Managing household budgets, buying rugby match-day tickets and paying players' wages are among the activities included in the programme and the pupils also took part in a non-contact game of touch rugby to learn how to play the game for themselves.
Since its launch in 2014, more than 8,300 children have taken part in the free MBNA Number Cruncherz programme from over 120 schools across the North West and North Wales.
Speaking after the event, Mr Osborne said: "Ensuring young people have an understanding of money is incredibly important, so I was delighted to be able to join the children at Wilmslow High School and see MBNA Number Cruncherz in action. It's fantastic to see organisations like Sale Sharks and MBNA working side-by-side, using rugby to create an education programme that's engaging and helps young people understand more about financial choices and decision-making."
James Pullé, Headteacher of Wilmslow High School, commented "We are very grateful to Sale Sharks, MBNA and George Osborne for giving their time to providing our students with such a powerful learning experience.
"It is not every day that young people have the chance to develop their understanding of money management by working with coaches from the North West's premiership rugby team, senior staff from an international financial services company and the UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer. I am sure that it will have inspired our students to be better stewards of financial resources and explore a broader range of career aspirations."
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Next time he passes thro' perhaps a towel-folding demonstration?
Looking forward to the next edition of Private Eye ;-)