On Friday 3rd May, as part of the Year 10 Careers Day, we had the privilege of hosting representatives from the Clapham branch of Handelsbanken who look after the banking and wealth management needs of private individuals and businesses across South West London. Handelsbanken is a relationship bank, which started in Sweden and now has an extensive network of branches across the UK.
The session proved invaluable as Megan, James, and Francesca covered crucial topics that pupils are eager to learn more about, including investing, mortgages, financial planning, and tax. In contrast to the recent reported inadequacies of financial education in secondary schools, with 75% of UK school leavers lacking a basic understanding of concepts like mortgages, this session, along with further focus on financial futures in Sixth Form, mean Emanuel pupils leave school ready to make informed decisions.
Throughout the session, pupils gained invaluable insights into managing money, understanding financial products, and planning for their financial futures. The presentation dived into concepts such as how interest rates affect savers and borrowers, the benefits of long-term saving and compound interest, fixed and variable rate mortgages, types of tax wrappers including cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, lifetime ISAs and pensions.
The pupils thoroughly enjoyed matching mystery clients with different financial backgrounds to appropriate investment opportunities and calculating mortgage repayments at different interest rates.
We extend our sincere thanks to the representatives from Handelsbanken for their generosity in sharing their time and expertise with our pupils. Their contribution has undoubtedly equipped our pupils with valuable knowledge and skills that will serve them well in their futures.
Miss E Maclean, Head of Careers and Employability