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King George V College, Southport to become a Centre of Excellence in financial education

STUDENTS at King George V College, Southport will soon be taught about money and personal finance, after it was announced that the sixth form college has been chosen to join the Centre of Excellence programme in financial education. The news comes as part of a ground breaking partnership between the UK's leading financial education charity pfeg (Personal Finance Education Group), part of Young Enterprise and Santander. The announcement means that the college, in Southport, will work with an educational specialist to create a detailed programme of financial education for their students and integrate the teaching of personal finance into the curriculum. Teachers will be assisted in the delivery of effective personal finance lessons and learning activities, drawing on the charity's 14 years experience of aiding educators in the schools and colleges across the UK.

Santander is supporting the development of King George V College, Southport to achieve Centre of Excellence status in the next year, turning it into a beacon of best practice in teaching children and young people about money. The college is one of 103 across the country set to benefit from the programme, 50 of which are currently funded by Santander. It will be supported in sharing its new expertise with other schools in the local area to benefit the wider educational community.

Anne-Marie Francis, Principal at King George V College, said:- "We know just how important it will be for our students to manage their money well throughout their lives. These skills don't come automatically; they need to be taught, and as it is our responsibility to prepare them for adult life we believe embedding financial education into our college curriculum is a necessity. We are pleased to be working with pfeg (part of Young Enterprise) to become a Centre of Excellence in this crucial area, for the benefit of our students."

Michael Mercieca, Chief Executive of Young Enterprise, said:- "We are delighted that King George V King has joined our Centre of Excellence programme through our partnership with Santander. The work that staff will be doing with our educational specialists over the coming months will be of enormous benefit to students, with financial education set to be firmly embedded into the curriculum. Our aim is to ensure that all students enter adult life with the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to manage money well."

Stephen Oakes, Branch Director at Santander's Southport branch said:- "At Santander we believe it is important for everyone to have good basic money management skills, but particularly young people who are encountering money earlier than ever. We recognise that teaching young people requires specialist delivery and the Centres of Excellence programme offers a tailored programme using materials that have been designed by education experts that complement the existing curriculum."

Liverpool City Region to #cometogether

A vigil is to be held at St George's Plateau in Liverpool, on Tuesday, 5 July 2016. #cometogether; which starts at 5:30pm; will be addressed by community and faith leaders who will reflect on recent events and make clear that Liverpool remains a City where people of all faiths and ethnicities are welcome. Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said:- "Although we are living in very uncertain times, it is absolutely vital that we all come together to work our way through the outcome of the EU referendum. I want to reassure people that we are absolutely determined to stand together in unity and tackle together the challenges we will face. It is not about which way people voted; what's done is done and we now have to move forward as 1 City, young and old working together.  Liverpool is a welcoming place; an international gateway, and our distinctive culture, identity, and values are testament to the positive benefits of international migration. We were the gateway to the new world and have taken in people from different backgrounds, cultures and faiths for hundreds of years. That is why, in contrast with other areas, new communities in Liverpool have received strong support. We want to send out a powerful message that people who live here now, wherever they are from, are part of the community of Liverpool. They are welcome here and we look forward to them remaining and being part of Liverpool in the future, and we will take any action necessary to tackle hate crime." #cometogether is one element of the Liverpool City Region's response to the outcome of the European Union referendum. Mayor Anderson has already met with faith and political leaders from all parties across the City Region to discuss how to respond. More discussions are planned over the coming weeks with businesses, universities, the Government and the EU to give out a clear message that there will be zero tolerance of hate crime and that the area is still open for business.  Mayor Anderson added:- "We are no strangers to crisis and adversity so we will come through this together; a stronger, fairer and more resilient City that values the contribution and potential of everyone." Anyone who wants to attend can gather at the plateau from 5pm, with the event starting at 5:30pm.