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Sam Dunn: Finance - the life skill they didn't test

Sunday 28 August 2005 00:00 BST
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Mine arrived during course work for a GCSE in religious studies. Wrestling with one of the apostles (Paul, I think), I rolled my eyes at the futility of it all.

Surely something far more useful could be learnt in school to prepare me better for later life? Like driving a car or becoming dexterous at DIY.

Similar thoughts no doubt plagued some of the half-million or so teenagers who received their GCSE results last week.

Since no generation has faced such a prospect of indebtedness as they grow into adulthood, it's a good bet that many raised their eyes to the skies while they studied. Instead of being mired in maths, they might have wished to learn about how to make and manage money.

In two to five years, if not straight away, many will become working members of a nation groaning under more than £1,000bn worth of credit card, bank, loan and mortgage debt.

Whether they continue to study with an eye on university, or jump straight into their first full-time job, they'll need to know how to avoid this alarming debt racked up by their parents' generation.

As bankruptcies, repossessions and bad debt write-offs rise amid shocking reports of finance-related suicides, ministers, consumer groups and the financial services industry have begun to cast around for a solution.

But even though the gravity of adult debt makes a strong case for improving children's awareness of money, personal finance education is not on the agenda. Amid the haul of GCSE results released last week, not one addressed this area.

Perhaps a tiny crumb of comfort can be found in the margins. For along with the tens of thousands tested in media studies (42,400) and expressive arts (10,000) were the 41 pupils who took an exam in financial services.

Unfortunately, the subject, on offer for the first time this year, is more a study of the industry than a lesson in how to beat the lenders at their own game.

The only other way pupils may have gained a grounding in money management is through classes in citizenship or personal, social and health education - neither of which are fully fledged qualifications.

Much depends on each school's attitude to personal finance: if teachers have neither confidence nor interest in the subject, it's often overlooked in favour of subjects such as environmental studies or sex education.

The Department for Education and Skills has no plans for a GCSE in financial literacy, despite lobbying from groups including the Personal Finance Education Group.

And while the Financial Services Authority is sending a questionnaire to 2,500 state schools asking them about financial literacy in schools, its purpose is not to be a platform for change - just an assessment.

A GCSE in financial education looks as far off as one for driving or home repairs.

s.dunn@independent.co.uk

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