Llanelli School and Principality celebrate financial education award

A school in Llanelli has received a Centre of Excellence award for its commitment to delivering a financial education programme to young people.

The accolade, which was awarded by the UK’s leading financial charity Young Money and supported by Principality Building Society, has shown Ysgol y Strade as a beacon of best practice for financial education.

Ysgol y Strade received the award for delivering a financial programme which was sustainable, effective and had an impact on young people’s financial capability. Over 40% of teachers at the school have been trained to deliver financial education and 400 students have the opportunity to study the London Institute of Banking and Finance (LIBF) financial qualification, which is the equivalent to a GCSE.

There are currently 140 Centres of Excellence in the UK – with Ysgol y Strade being the fourth centre in Wales to have received the award. As a Centre of Excellence, Ysgol y Strade will share its expertise with other schools in the region, with the aim of benefitting the wider educational community and students in neighbouring schools.

Over the past three years, Principality Building Society has worked closely on supporting Ysgol y Strade through the Business Class programme. As well as funding the LIBF qualifications for students, colleagues at Principality supported the delivery of financial education classes and hosted savings challenges for students at the Principality Stadium.

Mike Jones, Interim CEO, Principality Building Society, said: “Helping schools such as Ysgol y Strade receive Centre of Excellence status is the pinnacle of the financial work we do in Wales. It’s more important than ever to be equipping young people with money management skills, which will no doubt have a lasting impact on their financial capability in the future. We’re very proud of our strong relationship with Ysgol y Strade and their commitment to delivering an excellent and engaging financial programme for students.”

Adam Powell, Deputy Head Teacher, Ysgol y Strade, said: “We are overjoyed to be officially recognised as a Centre of Excellence for financial education. We recognise just how important financial capability is for young people and we have made the commitment that every student, whilst at Ysgol y Strade will receive a comprehensive financial education. Our whole school approach to the programme is student led, so that the education they receive fits their needs. Our Business Class partners Principality have been instrumental in ingraining sustainable financial education within the school community. I’d like to say a big thank you from everyone at Ysgol y Strade for their continued support.”

In 2019, Principality Building Society reached over 11,000 young people with financial education and careers based activity.

Sharon Davies, CEO, Young Money, said: “Ysgol y Strade has worked extremely hard to achieve its Centre of Excellence award and we are pleased that its young people have already started to see the benefit.  We’re delighted that Principality Building Society has supported the school in this achievement, which will be of enormous benefit to the students and have a real impact on their future.”