The vast majority of young individuals remain uninformed about the inclusion of financial education in their school curriculum.

Reflect on your school days and how much you actually learned about personal finance - layers of mortgages, credit cards, and loans. Well, let's face it - before 2014, that stuff wasn't part of the national curriculum, to everyone's surprise, including mine. After all, I was in school back then, at the dawn of this educational movement.

Much of what I learned back then has stuck with me over the years – interesting stuff like the science behind light waves or the plots against Queen Elizabeth I (those names still ring a bell – Ridolfi, Throckmorton, Babington). Stuff that doesn't really apply to my daily life. The gist of personal finance? Not so much.

And guess what? When I chatted with a few of my school buddies, they agreed - nobody remembers being taught anything related to borrowing money, tax payments, or pensions. Seems like I'm not alone in this boat.

A study by Boon Brokers backs up my personal experience. They surveyed 1,000 folks between the ages of 18 and 24, and 74% of them admitted they didn't even know financial literacy was part of the curriculum. So, naturally, they didn't consider school their main source of financial education. Instead, more than a third of them relied on their parents for that knowledge.

You might wonder whether the situation has improved today. Giang Hughes, a business support manager at Simplify Consulting, thinks financial education should be recognized as a life skill. He criticizes the shocking statistics and calls for change in the curriculum, aiming to make kids more financially literate as they grow up.

The biggest knowledge gap seems to centrate on mortgages: 58% of respondents reported that no learning facilities were available in school for them. And 92% said they want schools to teach mortgages.

So, while financial education was introduced to the UK National Curriculum in 2014, its impact seems moderate at best. To improve the situation and better equip students for their financial future, we need:

Comprehensive coverage: Mandate financial education across all schools, regardless of their organization.
Increased awareness: Let students know the availability and importance of financial literacy in their curriculum.
Practical learning: Incorporate real-life examples into the curriculum to help prepare them for actual financial decisions.
Parental engagement: Encourage parents to get involved in their kids' financial education.
Feedback mechanisms: Establish feedback systems to improve financial education continually based on student and teacher feedback.

Only then can we ensure that young people leave school with the necessary financial knowledge for their adult life.

Even after 2014, personal finance topics such as mortgages, credit cards, and loans were not fully incorporated into the national curriculum, which was surprising to many.
In school, I was taught about light waves and historical plots against Queen Elizabeth I, but there was little emphasis on personal finance matters like borrowing money, tax payments, or pensions.
A study by Boon Brokers found that 74% of young adults (aged 18-24) were unaware that financial literacy was part of the curriculum, indicating a reliance on their parents for financial education.
Giang Hughes, a business support manager at Simplify Consulting, believes that financial education should be recognized as a life skill and calls for a change in the curriculum to make students more financially literate.
The biggest knowledge gap appears to be in mortgages, with 58% of respondents reporting lack of learning facilities in schools, and 92% desiring schools to teach mortgages.
To better equip students for their financial future, it is necessary to implement comprehensive coverage of financial education, increased awareness, practical learning, parental engagement, and feedback mechanisms.
Improving financial education in schools can ensure that young people graduate with the essential knowledge of personal finance which is crucial for their adult life.