Do you still remember how to use cash after living in modern China for a long time?  

If you have a dream to travel the world, do you understand the principle of foreign currency exchange? 

Financial literacy has become a must for everyone now. But what does it mean? 

Learning is driven by interests at Wellington College International Hangzhou. Inspired by the most cutting-edge educational ethos and activities, our teachers have created a variety of learning activities for pupils to utilise knowledge gained into reality.  

One of the major cultural shocks for expatriates settling in China is how prevalent cashless transactions are in much of China.  But what you do not know is that cash remains widely used around the world. The Bank of England states that despite digital innovations, there are over £70 billion worth of banknotes in circulation and this is roughly twice as much as a decade ago.  Therefore, it’s important to teach this life skill so children are equipped with the knowledge of using cash properly. In the UK, My Money Week started in 2009 as a national activity week for school children providing an opportunity to gain skills, knowledge and confidence in money matters to help them thrive in society.  It is the highest profile and most recognised personal finance education initiative in England. Wellington introduced this initiative into our campus and had our UK Money Week last week. It was a fun and exciting way to prepare children for international life as they embrace differences and diversity in this world.  

Fun Fact:

China was the first country in the world to use paper money, during the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century. However, the British Pound is the world's oldest currency still in use at approximately 1,200 years old.

During UK Money Week, every child had the opportunity to earn money by working hard, producing good work and showing the Wellington values. At the end of the week, the children were able to visit our shop to buy coupons which they could exchange for different rewards. The shop was expertly manned by our Year 6 pupils who ran it independently of any help from teachers; they really showed fantastic independence and responsibility. 

In addition to learning a life skill, the week of activities is also linked to our maths curriculum. As we follow the English national curriculum, naturally part of the curriculum is based on UK money, so it is important to give children practical experiences that live long in their memory. During the week, children practised their mental maths skills by keeping a running total of their balance throughout the day, exchanged money for equivalent amounts, calculated their amount of change as well as gaining a deeper appreciation of relative values of amounts. This greater familiarity with UK money will then help them enormously when they face exam questions based on this topic.  

The week was thoroughly enjoyed by teachers and pupils alike. Pupils were enthused by the chance to earn their money, and teachers appreciated the results because it meant that our always highly motivated pupils became even more motivated now that there was money involved! The event was a huge success, and it gave us, as teachers, another reason to be proud of our pupils due to the way they conducted themselves and embraced the spirit of the week. 

It is a well-known concept that teaching financial literacy empowers pupils and at Wellington College International Hangzhou, a holistic educational ethos is paramount to providing children with a balanced education and preparing them to succeed as astute global citizens.