Why We Exist
Financial education shouldn't be a privilege reserved for private schools. Every child deserves to understand money.
It Started With a Question
In 2019, Sarah Mitchell was teaching economics at a secondary school in South Manchester. Bright students, engaged families, decent resources. But when she asked her Year 10 class to explain how credit cards work, the room went silent.
These were 15-year-olds who could analyse Shakespeare and solve quadratic equations, yet they had no idea what APR meant. They didn't know the difference between debit and credit. They'd never heard of compound interest.
Within three years, many of them would be signing student loan agreements worth tens of thousands of pounds.
The Education Gap Nobody Talks About
Financial literacy isn't part of the national curriculum in any meaningful way. A few lessons here and there, usually rushed, often taught by teachers who feel uncomfortable with the subject themselves.
Meanwhile, young people are bombarded with financial decisions earlier than ever. Buy-now-pay-later schemes target teenagers. Social media influencers promote trading apps. The pressure to project wealth online creates spending patterns that lead to debt before age 20.
Sarah saw students making expensive mistakes that would follow them for years, simply because nobody had taught them the basics.
Building Something Better
She recruited Tom Chen, a financial planner frustrated by meeting clients in their 30s and 40s who'd never learned to budget. And Maya Okonkwo, a youth worker who'd spent a decade watching talented young people held back by money mismanagement.
Together, they designed programmes that actually work for how young minds learn. Not lectures, but scenarios. Not theory, but practice. Not abstraction, but real choices with real consequences in a safe environment.
The first cohort was eight children in a community centre in Fallowfield. Six weeks, Saturday mornings, teaching money fundamentals through games and storytelling.
"By week four, every single child had opened a savings account and set a goal. Their parents were shocked. We weren't. We'd just given them information and let them make decisions." — Sarah Mitchell, Founder
What We've Learned
Over seven years and more than 300 participants, we've discovered what works and what doesn't.
Small groups work better than large classes. Eight participants max, because financial education requires conversation, not broadcasting.
Age-appropriate content matters more than we initially realised. Seven-year-olds need different frameworks than seventeen-year-olds, but both groups can grasp sophisticated concepts when presented correctly.
Parents must be involved, but not in the room. We send weekly updates and resources so families can continue conversations at home, but sessions themselves are child-focused spaces.
Money needs to connect to real goals. Abstract lessons about percentages bounce off young minds. But explaining compound interest through the lens of saving for something they actually want? That sticks.
Our Team Today
We're now a team of seven educators and finance professionals who believe passionately that financial literacy should be universal, not elite.
Everyone who teaches for us has dual expertise: education experience and financial knowledge. We don't want bankers who can't relate to children, nor teachers who feel anxious about numbers. We need both skillsets in one person.
Each team member completed a six-month training programme we developed in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University. Understanding child development, managing group dynamics, and translating complex financial concepts into clear language.
What Drives Us
Accessibility
Financial education should be available to families across all income levels. We offer sliding scale fees for families who need support, funded by those who can pay full price.
Evidence-Based Methods
Every technique we use has been tested, measured, and refined. We track comprehension, retention, and real-world application through follow-up surveys six and twelve months after completion.
Non-Commercial Approach
We don't sell financial products. We don't receive commissions. We don't promote specific banks or investment platforms. Our only agenda is education.
Long-Term Impact
Success isn't measured by test scores but by behaviour change. Are participants making more informed decisions six months later? That's what matters.
Looking Ahead
We're expanding slowly and deliberately. Three new team members join us this year, allowing us to run more cohorts across additional Manchester locations.
But we'll never sacrifice quality for scale. Every group stays small. Every participant gets individual attention. Every family receives the support their child needs.
Financial literacy changes life trajectories. We've seen it happen hundreds of times. And we're committed to making that opportunity available to every young person in Manchester who wants it.